On Thursday, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said 'a logistical supply chain to the Arctic region is essential if we want to be able to defend our freedom in the North.'Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew is hailing the launch of a federal study that will gather industry perspectives about the expansion of the northern Port of Churchill as a possible export hub for commodities and a new energy corridor in Canada.
He told reporters at the provincial legislature Thursday that Ottawa will lead the study canvassing business leaders at about 70 large companies for feedback. The Premier said he is optimistic that the effort, which the governments plan to wrap up this spring, will yield an increased share of private-sector investment toward the port in the Hudson Bay region.
“We’re really starting to lean into the opportunity in Northern Manitoba,” Mr. Kinew said. “And I think that should make us all proud as Manitobans because we’re helping the whole country here.”
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Last year, after U.S. President Donald Trump launched a global trade war that has since dominated Canadian economic policy, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the expansion of Churchill as part of a series of major infrastructure projects to be fast-tracked for approval and funding.
Together, the federal and Manitoba governments committed $262.5-million in November to co-ordinate efforts toward the planning and design of a strategy for Churchill’s port.
Arctic Gateway Group, a partnership of 41 First Nations and northern communities that owns and operates the port, will work alongside the federal government to gauge market viewpoints from executives in the mining, energy, resupply, potash and grain sectors.
In a statement Thursday, Eleanor Olszewski, the minister for Prairies Economic Development Canada, said the new study “reflects Canada’s ongoing commitment to reconciliation and in building a stronger sovereign presence in our northern and arctic waters.”
Located in a region recognized as the polar bear capital of the world, Churchill consists of a railway and a relatively small deepwater port. It has previously focused on agricultural exports, though it has recently begun to accommodate zinc concentrate shipments.
The port connects the Atlantic Ocean through the Hudson Strait and has long been viewed as a possible trade hub, but expansion talks have been plagued by years of false starts.
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Industry officials and experts have been wary of its short shipping season because it is frozen for about two-thirds of the year and would require icebreakers to expand its exporting timeframe.
But Mr. Kinew said a separate research project at the University of Manitoba is examining the environmental effects of new machinery, which is expected to enable year-round shipping.
“It’s clear there is private-sector interest, so we need to start putting our ducks in a row on the environment,” he said. “What level of public-sector investments are needed to unlock private-sector dollars? That’s why we’re studying icebreakers.”
Amid a contentious relationship with the United States, Ottawa has also mentioned Churchill – which was once a military outpost – as playing a critical part in maintaining Canada’s sovereignty.
“A logistical supply chain to the Arctic region is essential if we want to be able to defend our freedom in the North,” Mr. Kinew said.
“If something were to go down right now, Churchill is the only logistical presence we have in the North, and it is the only logistical support in the region that the Canadian Armed Forces would be able to turn to.”