Listen to this article
Dear 2 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated using text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.
Manitoba is providing $51 million in new funding to help upgrade the Hudson Bay rail line as officials from the federal and provincial governments met Sunday in Winnipeg to work on the possibility of expanding the Port of Churchill.
Arctic Gateway Group, an association of dozens of First Nations and Hudson Bay communities that own the port, said in a news release that the new money would go toward bringing the northern rail line to Class I to accommodate heavier loads.
The funding will also help pay for a new critical mineral storage facility at the Port of Churchill, the province said in a joint statement with the federal government on Sunday.
However, Ottawa’s list of major projects of “national importance” does not yet include the port expansion.
In September, the Port of Churchill Plus was included on the Major Projects Office’s “transformative strategies list”, while the Prime Minister announced other projects would go ahead.
In Winnipeg on Sunday, Premier Mark Carney said the Port of Churchill opens up a “huge amount of opportunities” in northern Manitoba, including possibilities for “energy, agriculture, critical minerals and more.”
Premier Wab Kinew said expansion in Churchill remains a “major priority” for Manitoba as he passed a soccer ball (Winnipeg will host the Gray Cup championship this weekend) to Carney, saying “the ball is in his hands.”
With the new $51 million in funding, the province has spent $87.5 million on the project. The federal government announced in March that it will contribute $175 million.
The joint news release said Carney and Kinew “are committed to continuing this work in an accelerated manner.”
Plans and a strategy for the port’s expansion are expected to be released in spring 2026, according to the joint statement.
