Federal and Manitoba governments announce more steps toward port project

One of the federal government’s proposed nation-building projects — the expansion of the Port of Churchill and the rail line that serves the remote northern community — will require a lot of work, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Sunday.

“We’ll move forward in steps,” Carney said at the start of a 45-minute meeting with Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew in Kinew’s office.

“It’s a very big project, very ambitious, and a lot of work to do, starting now,” he said in French.

Manitoba has long touted Churchill, a town of 900 people on the shore of Hudson Bay, as a port with huge potential to ship goods via the Arctic Ocean to Europe and elsewhere. The project recently made a list of initiatives being considered as “transformative” by the federal government although it was not among five projects highlighted in September for an initial round of nation-building infrastructure work.

There are hurdles to expanding shipping through Churchill — a long rail line through remote terrain that needs upgrading, a short ice-free season in Hudson Bay, and storage capacity in Churchill, which is not connected by road to other communities.

Carney confirmed funding Sunday for a study on the potential of specialized icebreakers, ice tugs and research vessels at the port. Kinew announced $51 million for improvements to the rail line and a new critical-minerals storage facility at the port.

Kinew also said he and Carney have agreed to meet every three months to discuss the project and other matters.

“When we’re thinking about a major piece of infrastructure, realistically, a five- to 10- year timeline is probably realistic,” Kinew said after the meeting.