Arctic Gateway Group building momentum, restoring business for Churchill’s port

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A new partnership could soon see rail traffic and grain shipments restored between the town of Churchill and a Saskatchewan community that is hoping to share in the profits of the newly-revitalized Port of Churchill.

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The Arctic Gateway Group, (AGG) which has been working on ambitious plans to restore both the Port of Churchill and the Hudson’s Bay Railway, announced late last month they have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Invest Tisdale, the economic development agency for the town of Tisdale, Saskatchewan and surrounding rural areas.

The organizations hope to restore bi-directional rail operations between Churchill and the central Saskatchewan community within the next five years, with the goal of having grain and other agricultural products and supplies shipped directly between Tisdale and Churchill, which is home to the Port of Churchill.

Chris Avery, the CEO of AGG, said restoration of rail traffic between the two communities would be a huge economic boon to Tisdale, and to western Canadian farmers looking to utilize Churchill’s port to get their products to markets around the world.

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“Producers in that region in Saskatchewan have long understood the importance of the Port of Churchill to them, because the closer proximity to global markets and a more efficient trade route will translate to lower transportation costs,” Avery said.

“The Port of Churchill can offer Saskatchewan grain farmers major cost savings with a shorter and more direct route to world markets.”

Although the agreement is still at the MOU stage, Avery said the parties are confident they will reach their shared goal of restoring rail service between the communities.

“We want to get grain and agricultural products moving through the Port of Churchill again, so our MOU with Invest Tisdale is about making it happen,” Avery said. “Both parties see the opportunity, so I am confident we will make it happen.”

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And while a restored rail line could be an economic benefactor for Tisdale and Canadian producers, Avery says it also shows the “momentum” that AGG has been building since starting their work to restore the port and the railway, and they expect similar agreements to be reached moving forward.

“The Port of Churchill provides a direct connection to global markets for the vast Western Canadian resources, so we are confident more organizations and producers will see and seize the opportunities,” he said.

The province and the federal government announced in February funding of $30 million each to boost economic opportunities in northern Manitoba with the money going to AGG to support their work to redevelop the port, and to complete work on the Hudson Bay Railway, both of which they own and operate.

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The agreement is now the second MOU to be signed by AGG in recent weeks, as in September they also announced they had signed a MOU with Sakku Investments Corp. (Sakku) the economic development arm of the Kivalliq Inuit Association, to look for opportunities including improving transportation infrastructure between Churchill and communities in Nunavut.

In August, AGG announced that the first shipment of critical minerals was exported out of the Port of Churchill in more than two decades, and Avery said they expect minerals and other products to continue flowing through the port.

“We are in discussions to increase critical mineral exports from the Port of Churchill significantly next year,” he said. “And we continue to have discussions with other agriculture producers about the opportunity in Churchill.

“We have momentum and with the progress we have made and will make, we are seizing the opportunities of Manitoba as a Maritime province.”

— Dave Baxter is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the Winnipeg Sun. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.

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