Mark Carney at a Policy Exchange summer party, August 2015
Churchill port seen as northern gateway as Ottawa eyes new energy corridors
FORT McMURRAY, Alta. — Prime Minister Mark Carney says Ottawa’s half-trillion-dollar infrastructure plan could help unlock new energy corridors that may one day link Alberta’s oil and liquefied natural gas to European markets through Hudson Bay.
Churchill, Man., remains the most advanced option and has been flagged by Carney as a potential early priority. The Indigenous-owned Arctic deepwater port has drawn attention from Ottawa and Manitoba as part of a broader push to strengthen sovereignty in the North and diversify export routes.
But Churchill is not the only port being talked about. Recent weeks have seen a flurry of announcements about three possible shipping hubs on Hudson Bay and James Bay. One is the operating Port of Churchill, another is a proposed revival of Port Nelson at the mouth of the Nelson River, and the third is an as-yet-nebulous project floated for James Bay.
Port Nelson was first attempted more than a century ago before being abandoned in 1918 because of severe silting at the river mouth. Since then, Manitoba Hydro’s system of dams along the Nelson River has significantly reduced the sediment problem, sparking renewed speculation about the site. Churchill became the substitute when the Hudson Bay Railway was rerouted north, but its line has long struggled with muskeg and flooding.
Carney, speaking alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, suggested Churchill could be among the first projects announced. “It’s one of the first potential ones, but there is much more to it in terms of what it potentially unlocks,” he said. “It unlocks LNG. It unlocks major Indigenous leadership and participation. It potentially unlocks pathways for critical minerals, and links into Europe.”
Supporters say the projects reflect a new nation-building agenda underpinned by a federal approvals office set to open by Labour Day. Critics note the complexity of pipelines, utility corridors and Arctic shipping infrastructure remains formidable, even amid the enthusiasm.
Carney said diversification across provinces, markets and sectors will be central to his government’s approach. “Diversification across provinces, diversification of market, diversification of new activities that we haven’t been doing at scale … are going to make the country stronger, make us more resilient, [and] make us more prosperous across all of Canada.”
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