In a report titled, the "Region's Edge," Institute researchers found more than 13 million people cross the border at the area's four international bridges.

According to just two of the findings, 40 percent of the students attending D'Youville College are Canadian. And 90 percent of the members at country clubs in Southern Ontario are Americans.

The Institute's Deputy Director Kathryn Friedman says a bi-national region that works together will be more competitive in the global economy.

Friedman says the report did not take a position on such controversial issues as the one that would require a passport to cross the border. She says it was designed to provide policy-makers with accurate data to make such decisions. © Copyright 2010, WBFO