If the Port of Churchill is included in the second wave of Ottawa’s nation-building projects later this year – as many expect – then Chris Avery has no doubt that Manitoba will solidify its place as a Maritime province.
That’s right, a Prairie province AND a Maritime province.
This unique distinction can become a reality once the port realizes its full potential as a year-round shipping hub connecting northern Manitoba and Canada with trading partners in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and South America.
“The Prairie provinces hold vast resources and Churchill can be the major port that gets resources to market,” says Avery, the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Arctic Gateway Group, which owns and operates the Hudson Bay Railway and the Port of Churchill, collectively referred to as the Arctic Trade Corridor.
“We’re definitely a Maritime province. In the current geopolitical environment, that view has taken on much greater importance. Our assets enable us to be major port, which will diversify Canada’s trade, assert our sovereignty in the North and become a global energy superpower.”
The next step for Avery and his team is to work with Ottawa’s Major Projects Office to help ensure the port is included in the second wave of Bill C-5, the Building Canada Act.
“That’s what Prime Minister Mark Carney has asked us to do. We’re working together so we can seize the opportunity for northern Manitoba and Canada,” he says.
The first wave of Bill C-5 was announced this summer and featured five nation-buiding projects:
- phase two of LNG Canada doubling its production of liquefied natural gas in Kitimat, B.C.
- the Darlington New Nuclear Project in Clarington, Ont., which will make small modular reactors
- Contrecoeur Terminal Container Project to expand the Port of Montreal
- the McIlvenna Bay Foran Cooper Mine Project in Saskatchewan
- expansion of the Red Chris Mine in northwestern B.C.
“The top five on the list are projects that are well advanced and at the stage that we aspire to be. We’re not there yet but we’re confident that working with the Major Projects Office we’ll absolutely get there.” Arctic Gateway Group, which also owns the Churchill Marine Tank Farm, supplier of fuel to Churchill, including its airport and other northern communities, is owned by 29 First Nations and 12 northern Manitoba communities. The company has spent millions of dollars upgrading rail lines to Churchill, which saw sections washed away in 2017 due to the former owners’ neglect of basic railway maintenance, causing many businesses to find other ports and ways of moving their products to market.
Just as importantly, Churchill was effectively cut off and isolated from the southern part of the province and the other northern communities had to adjust to severely decreased service.
The railway’s owners at the time, Denverbased OmniTRAX, refused to repair the tracks, claiming it was not economically feasible.
Avery begs to differ and is quick to note the home base of its ownership group is a critical differentiator as it takes matters into its own hands.
“The major difference is the railway’s ownership lives in the region, this is their backyard. Most of the communities are dependent on the railways for transportation and their supplies. They will not let the asset be neglected the way it was by American ownership,” he says. “We’re very much starting back up. It’s an entrepreneurial start-up. We’re taking advantage of the fact that we truly are a strategic asset to Canada. This is an opportunity to drive more Indigenous and non- Indigenous employment, more training, more development and more jobs for young people. As the business becomes more material, the economic returns will go back to the communities, not Bay Street or Wall Street.”
This isn’t the first time Churchill’s potential has been touted as a major economic driver for Canada. The town and port were built nearly a century ago and exported agricultural products, such as grain and wheat, to foreign markets.
The infrastructure, however, was neglected for many years and the potential was never close to being realized.
Churchill’s population today is about 900 but the infrastructure currently in place can support a population more than four times that size.
“That’s where the opportunity is from an investment point of view, investment in the port that creates a dual use set of infrastructure that gives the military more infrastructure flexibility in Churchill and strengthens Canada’s sovereignty and paves the way for increased year-round commercial traffic. The goal is to see Churchill become a vibrant place with a port that facilitates trade across northern Manitoba and northern Canada,” he says.
Avery is quick to note that Arctic Gateway Group continues to educate Manitobans and Canadians about Churchill’s potential. It can and will be so much more than a tourist destination to see polar bears, beluga whales and the Northern Lights.
“The more we talk about it, the more people will be in the know. We’re committed to creating a balance in developing the business along with tourism. They’ll continue to be our neighbours in Churchill. We very much believe the two can support each other,” he says. “Now you have more flights, more seats, more affordable airfares, more hotels, more restaurants and more stores. That begets more visitors and more industry.”
