Manitoba, Ottawa putting up $60M for Churchill railway upgrades, port redevelopment

The provincial and federal governments are committing$60 million to enhance the railway to northern Manitoba and Canada'sonly rail-accessible deepwater port on Arctic waters.

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew and federal Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal will be in Churchill to make the announcement on Friday morning.

The two levels of government will each contribute $30 million to improve the Hudson Bay Railway, which is the northern Manitoba community's only land link to the south,and begin the redevelopment ofthe Port of Churchill, a government source confirmed.CBC is not naming the person because they were not authorized to speak on the matter.

The money will be used to finishcapital upgrades tothe rail line, which has endured lengthy service disruptions over the years, and handle operating and maintenance costs.

Funding will also be available to support the next stages of the port's development, which includes exploring any future export partnerships.

The government source wouldn't comment on whatcommodities might be involved in those partnerships, but there has been talk of shipping hydrogen,which Kinew has championed.

Some politicians, including federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievreand Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, have also touted transporting oil through Churchill,but that has beendenounced by environmentalists.

New shipments expected in 2024

The funding will also support the expected growth of the railwayand connected port, the source confirmed.

For example, the Arctic Gateway Group a partnership of dozens of First Nation and Bayline communities thatownsand operates the rail line reached an agreement late last year to ship up to 20,000 tonnes of zinc concentrate mined by Hudbay.

Arctic Gateway said in a news release it would build storage facilities to hold on to the material before it is loaded onto international vessels.

Other opportunities for the railway and port include the arrival of more cruise ships and a twice-weekly freight service launching this year to helpsupply food and fuel to communities like those in Nunvaut's Kivalliq region, the source said.

The funding support to be announced Friday is in addition to$133 million promised by the province and feds in 2022 to upgrade the rail line.

The federal governmenthad, prior to this week,put in a total of more than $215 million toward railway improvements.

The land link to the south,privatized after the federal government sold the Canadian National Railway in 1995, runs through remote, boggy terrain and has been prone to defects, cutting off northerncommunities from each other.

Its previous U.S.-based owners stopped running trains to Churchill for around 18 months after the railway line was badly damaged by flooding in 2017.

Under formerpremier Brian Pallister, the province did not provide any financial support to repair the rail line once the Arctic Gateway ownership group took over.

Heather Stefanson, who succeededPallister as the Progressive Conservative Party'sleader and premier in 2021, changed course by contributing more than $70 million toward the project.

Kinew, VandalandArctic Gateway chairperson Mike Spence, who is also the mayor of Churchill, weren't available Wednesday to speak before the official announcement.

Politicians tout rail line

The premier has saidpubliclyhe sees Manitoba, with access to Hudson Bay, as a maritime province with untapped economic potential.

Vandal, the minister responsible for Northern Affairs,has called the all-weather rail line the "backbone of northern Manitoba" and said it is vital to maintain national and global interests.

The previous Manitoba PC governmentexplored the idea of building another deepwater port off Hudson Bay as part of a plan toship potash from Saskatchewan and petroleum products from Alberta across the Arctic Ocean.

One day before the start of a pre-election blackout on government spendingannouncements last summer, the province committed $6.7 million for a feasibility study on the proposal, called the NeeStaNanproject.Manitoba's funding pledge was contingent on Alberta and Saskatchewan covering the remainder of the $26-million study cost.

NeeStaNan said in a news release last month thatPhase 1 of its feasibility study was underway, but didn't provide any more details. The company wasn't available late Wednesday to comment on its progress.

WATCH | Former Progressive Conservative government last year looked at opening a second Hudson Bay port:

Manitoba considers building 2nd port on Hudson Bay, sidelining Port of Churchill

1 year ago

Duration 2:14

Manitoba is exploring the idea of building a second deepwater port on Hudson Bay as part of a plan to ship potash from Saskatchewan and petroleum products from Alberta through the Arctic Ocean.