QUESNEL: Manitoba’s historic opportunity for a northern shipping port

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Talk of U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods has renewed thoughtful consideration about Manitoba to develop the province’s northern ports.

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Most commentators and provincial politicians have promoted the port at Churchill as a logical point for diversifying Manitoba’s trade relationships if our trade with our southern neighbours goes south.

Premier Kinew recently stated as much when he touted the deep-sea port to enhance the country’s northern sovereignty. Business interests see an advantage in the port’s accessibility by rail. However, unless governments and private partners make serious investments to turn the port into a year-round shipping corridor, the port is only usable for the summer months.

Feiyue Wang, a University of Manitoba professor, said the port has dramatic regional and national implications in terms of creating a significant new shipping road to the global supply chain.

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Wang is a Canada research chair who specifically studies Arctic thaw in Canada and its creation of industrial opportunities in the Far North and sees potential with Churchill given those warming trends and a possible ice-free Hudson Bay.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and others promoted shipping oil through Churchill. However, using Churchill as a shipping corridor for supply chains is not theoretical — it has already happened. Arctic Gateway Group said zinc concentrate has already been shipped through the port.

Although both levels of government have made significant investments in Churchill’s rail link and the port itself, governments should go all the way to create a fully functioning year-round port. Governments also ought to convince investors the port will be profitable and will pay for itself over time.

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Manitoba could also seek a guarantee from Ottawa that they will utilize the port region for northern sovereignty and maintain a military presence.

While tariffs have created motivation to get serious about this northern seaport, they could strengthen trade networks with the U.S. by better facilitating North American supply chains.

Churchill is not the only northern Manitoba corridor that has raised interest. The Neestanan utility corridor is an Indigenous-led project to develop a trade corridor across the northern Prairie provinces that would terminate at a year-round, multi-modal port on Hudson Bay north of the Nelson River. This would present a second year-round seaport to facilitate a corridor for minerals, agricultural goods, and energy exports to international markets. Wilfred Laurier’s federal government considered two terminal locations on the Hudson Bay when building the Hudson Bay railways in the 1910s: Port Nelson on the shore of the Nelson River and Churchill.

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The government was at first convinced Port Nelson was a better economic choice. This determination led to the start of port construction. Ottawa ended up selecting Churchill due to silt accumulation issues. This led the feds to abandon the Port Nelson site and chose Churchill instead.

Whether the government and private proponents choose one or both sites, they should put serious investment and political will into the effort. Port operators originally designed Churchill to export grain to international markets. Now, a supply corridor could ship so much more and for more profit for everyone involved. This also means the port and its infrastructure must support much more.

Manitoba should finally consider putting everything into building northern ports and corridors. If we do not move closer to the speed of business, we will miss this historic chance.

— Joseph Quesnel is a senior research fellow with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. www.fcpp.org

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