It is an aspect of changing security concerns.
Soon the United States government will require you to have a passport to cross the border.
To help the Manitoba government launched a cheaper alternative it is allowing for an enhanced I-D card for surface crossing only.
Response from Manitobans to the card has been, in a word, slow.
It is meant to be more convenient and less expensive than a passport, but it seems few Manitobans are buying into the new enhanced identification card.
"Truly it's been quite slow, we've had a few people ask, minimum people going for it, it's been really quite slow," explains Ken Apperly from Gateway Insurance.
At the usually busy Ryan Gateway Insurance, less than a dozen people have asked about the cards, only three have actually applied for one.
"I expected it to be much busier than this," says Apperly.
The government and Manitoba Public Insurance launched the card earlier this month to be used to cross the U-S border by land or water.
According to focus groups they expected 150,000 Manitobans to get the card.
To date, just fewer than 1,000 have applied.
"That's the intricacies and the adventures of a project, you forecast but you never know what response will be in terms of changing economic times people's preferences," says MPI's Brian Smiley.
The government is pouring $13-million into the program and adding or deploying 130 staff members to cover it.
"They're preparing for future interviews and again we're optimistic Manitobans will take advantage of the card," ensures Smiley.
MPI officials say there is still time for interest in the card to pick up. By June you will need one of these cards or a passport to drive across the U-S border and by the fall the province hopes to launch their enhanced version of the one-piece driver's license.
With a report from CTV's Joe Olafson
