The Problem We Saw
Fort McMurray is one of Canada's most unique cities. Its 80,000+ residents — many of them highly-paid oilsands workers — live 430 km from the nearest major city, accessible primarily by Highway 63. They earn strong wages but often can't find what they need locally. They travel this corridor constantly, yet there was no infrastructure to make those trips useful for anyone else.
The community had already figured this out informally. Facebook groups with 40,000+ members were full of posts: "Going to Edmonton tomorrow, want me to bring anything?" Hundreds of informal arrangements were made every week — unprotected, unpaid, and untracked.
NorthRun gives this community the infrastructure they deserve: escrow payments, GPS tracking, ID verification, an insurance option, reviews, and a marketplace that connects buyer and delivery in one seamless transaction. We didn't invent the behaviour. We just made it safe, reliable, and fair for everyone involved.
"No single platform in Canada combines intercity delivery, carpooling, traveler-as-courier, and a marketplace into one community platform. We're building something that doesn't exist anywhere in Canada right now."