Manitoba has 'first-mover advantage' to establish Arctic trade corridor, premier says

Manitoba has a "first-mover advantage" over other Canadian provinces and territories when it comes to establishing an Arctic trade corridor through its deepsea port, Premier Wab Kinew says.

On Tuesday, Kinew and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe signed an agreement with Arctic Gateway Group to upgrade infrastructure, modernize supply chains and increase access to global markets through the Port of Churchill.

The port, which has a brief operating window each summer, is owned and operated by Arctic Gateway Group, a partnership of dozens of First Nations and Hudson Bay communities. The port is currently Canada's only Arctic seaport serviced by rail, according to Arctic Gateway.

A five-year road map is outlined in the memorandum of understanding, which the Province of Manitoba says formalizes a shared commitment to invest in the port and connected railway to lengthen the shipping season, support boosted freight capacity and activate trade networks.

Arctic Gateway will invest in the port and railway to lengthen the shipping season and support heightened freight capacity, while Saskatchewan will ready commodity producers and exporters, as Manitoba leads efforts to secure federal funding and regulatory support for the site, the province said.

The premiers made the announcement during the first ministers' meeting in Ontario's Muskoka region, where the premiers were discussing their own response to the Canada-U.S. trade war.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith also signed a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday morning to build new energy and trade infrastructure. The agreement calls for a new deepsea port to be built in James Bay.

Kinew dismissed suggestions that the agreement may threaten the viability of the Port of Churchill as a nation-building project, because he said Manitoba's port already has an established railway and other infrastructure.

"Manitoba has a first-mover advantage when it comes to that logistical consideration," he told reporters on Tuesday afternoon.

Shortly after the Liberals won a minority government in last April's federal election, Kinew sent a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney to pitch five major resource projects in the province that could be fast-tracked.

At the top of Kinew's list was a project he called the "One Canada Trade Corridor," which would create a potential hub for critical minerals and fossil fuel exports through the Port of Churchill to diversify Canada's trade relationships.

The Hudson Bay port, accessed via the Arctic Gateway railway system, promotes itself as the shortest link from the Prairies to the Atlantic Ocean, offering access to the Arctic, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and South America.

Talks of critical mineral exploration and potential oil shipments in northern Manitoba aren't new, but Kinew has been increasingly vocal about a renewed case for the port as a way to ease trade tensions with the United States since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to office last January.

Manitoba could 'move ahead without the feds' on port

Kinew said he didn't want to enter the agreement with Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta on Tuesday before Manitoba has "buy-in from Indigenous nations" on its own mega-projects. He said the province has been in deep discussions with Indigenous communities in the province.

Although he said he'd love to have the federal government's support on those projects, Kinew added that Manitoba could "move ahead without the feds."

"We would absolutely love to have the federal government as an enthusiastic partner. I think they will be very, very supportive of the mega-project we're seeking to build," Kinew said.

"But the partners that we need are the collective Indigenous nations in Manitoba," because that "means that our ability to move ahead doesn't mean it's contingent" on federal approvals, Kinew said.

He also said he believes Manitoba's experience with reconciliation gives the province an advantage in pursuing mega-projects.

In recent years, the federal and provincial governments have invested millions of dollars in the railway line and port as a way to secure a trade route through Hudson Bay and the Arctic to overseas markets.

The port recently added a second weekly freight train on the Hudson Bay Railway and tripled its critical mineral storage capacity.