Listen to this article
Approximately 3 minutes
The audio version of this article was created using text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.
Manitoba is committing $51 million in new funding to upgrade the Hudson's Bay Railway as federal and provincial government officials met Sunday in Winnipeg to work on the possibility of expanding the Port of Churchill.
Arctic Gateway Group, a partnership between dozens of First Nations and Hudson's Bay communities that own the port, said in a press release that the new the money will go toward the engineering work needed to build the northern rail line and bring it to Class I status, meaning it can handle heavier loads.
The money will also pay for a new storage and loading system.The Port of Churchill will handle critical minerals, potash and Arctic supplies, as well as additional vessels and equipment to handle more maritime traffic, Arctic Gateway said.
Prime Minister Mark Carney and Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew met in the Prime Minister's Office on Sunday after the federal and provincial governments reaffirmed their commitment to expanding ports in joint statement on Sunday.
However Ottawa's official list of major projects of “national importance” still does not include a port expansion.
In September, Port Churchill Plus was included in the Major Projects Authority's “transformation strategy list” and five other projects were announced by the Prime Minister.cts will move forwardrd.
On Thursday, Carney announced six more major projects, noting that the Port of Churchill expansion still requires further development.
At Kinew's offices on Sunday, Carney said Port Churchill opens up “a tremendous amount of opportunity” to the north.Earn Manitoba, including opportunities for “energy, agriculture, critical minerals and more.”
Kinew said Churchill's expansion remains a “top priority” for Manitoba as he handed the football (Winnipeg hosts the Gray Cup this weekend) to Carney, saying “the ball is in his hands.”“
Speaking in French, Carney described the project as large, ambitious and multi-phase.
According to Cainew's office, the project involves some sort of port expansion, upgrades to the Hudson's Bay Railway, an all-weather road to Churchill and possibly other destinations in northern Manitoba, the presence of icebreakers in Hudson's Bay and an “energy corridor” that may involve transportation or transfer liquefied natural gas, crude oil, natural gas, electricity or hydrogen, the latter most likely in the form of ammonia.
With $51 million in new funding, the province has spent $87.5 million on the project. In March, the federal government announced it would provide $175 million.
Kinew said the engineering work could also lead to realignment of the railroad, which he said would be discussed with the major projects office.
“We're going to talk about things like potential routes and how best to get food to the coast. So, there's a lot of tires going on right now, a lot of research going on right now,” Kinew told reporters after meeting with Carney.
Kinew said he and Carney plan to meet about the project four times a year. The prime minister said that more detailed plans and strategy for the port expansion are expected in the spring of 2026.
