A list of the next federal government projects could include a new port infrastructure in Churchill, Man., Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday.
Carney’s comments on the site of Northern Manitoba occurred when he said that the federal government will spend half a billion dollars on infrastructure projects, ranging from energy to ports and intelligence.
“Several of these investments, the first of which we will formally announce in the next two weeks, are with respect to the new port infrastructure,” said Carney in Germany, where the prime minister met with Frriedrich Merz Foreign Minister and announced an agreement with the European country on critical minerals and energy.
“Some of the examples in the public domain will include reinforcement and construction in the port of Montreal, Contreoeur; a new port, indeed, in Churchill, Manitoba, which would open huge LNG [liquified natural gas] more other opportunities; and other ports of the east coast for those critical metals and minerals. “
The port of Churchill, which is one of the deep waters to the north of Canada and has a brief operational window every summer, is owned and operated by Arctic Gateway Group, an association of dozens of communities of the first nations and Hudson Bay. It is the only deep water port with access to the Arctic Ocean in North America that can also be accessed by rail.
Carney’s comments arrive days after an announcement that the conversations were launched to explore a sustainable shipping season throughout the year in the port of Churchill, After an agreement Between the port owned by the port and a dry bulk shipping company based in Montreal.
The commercial tensions of Canada United States aroused a renewed interest in the port of Churchill earlier this year, with the Prime Minister of Manitoba, Wab Kinew, saying that it could be a good option to boost trade with Europe, and the expansion could fit with the Federal Government Plan for the Construction Infrastructure of the Nation.
Look | Carney says that Churchill Port could be ‘one of the first’ important infrastructure projects:
Prime Minister Mark Carney, speaking with journalists in Latvia on Tuesday, was close to appointing the main infrastructure projects that his government will prioritize. Carney appointed the port of Churchill de Manitoba as a possibility.
In recent years, federal and provincial governments have spent millions of dollars in the railway line and the port to ensure a commercial route through Hudson Bay and the Arctic to foreign markets.
Kinew described the announcement on Tuesday as an exciting moment for the province.
“We have this incredible opportunity to build an existing port, an existing asset, something that is already sending critical minerals to international markets this year, but really to take it to the next level,” Kinew told journalists in a video call, and added that more infrastructure is needed to hit what he described as that “next economic level.”
“Make sure we have the port capacity to load more ships, making sure we have the breaks to keep the open shipping lane, this is how we can make this opportunity a reality for the maximum potential we want to build.”
A statement attributed to the president and CEO of Arctic Gateway Group, Chris Avery, said Tuesday that he appreciates the Comments of Carney, adding the port “is ready to intensify and play a vital role in the diversification of Canada’s trade, make our exports of critical energy and minerals grow and strengthen sovereignty in the north.”
When asked again about the port of Churchill later on Tuesday in Latvia, Carney said that there is “much more than Contreoeur in terms of what potentially unlocks”, in addition to LNG.
“Unlock, and greet the Premier Kinew initiative here, unlock indigenous leadership and participation. Potentially unlocks roads for minerals and critical links in Europe,” he said.
Tim Hodgson, Federal Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, told journalists on Tuesday that he believes that the port of Churchill is underutilized and “a great opportunity.”
Feiyue Wang, professor and president of Research at Canada in the Department of the Environment and Geography of the University of Manitoba, which also directs the Marine Observatory of Churchill near the port, said the update of the prime minister was “a long time.”
“My initial response is: finally,” Wang said, adding that the port has potential as Arctic ice melts due to climate change, which leads to a longer shipping season.
“Many of us who work in the region, we know that the potential is there. And I’m glad that the prime minister finally [started] to realize that this is possible. “
But Wang said that while having a longer shipping season in the port would create opportunities, there are also environmental risks, including pollution, the risk of oil spills and the effects on marine mammals of the increase in shipment.
“It requires really very thorough and careful planning and work and work together, especially with people who call home to the region.”
Premier Kinew said that addressing any environmental concern linked to the project will mean ensuring that the perspectives of indigenous leaders and make adequate investments in infrastructure are taken into account.
During the stops in Germany and Latvia on Tuesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney said that an announcement of a new port infrastructure, even in Churchill, Man., Will come in the next two weeks. The Manitoba Prime Minister’s plan is welcome, but an expert says that developing the port has risks.
