Overview

• The provinces and Arctic Gateway Group signed a memorandum on July 22 outlining a five-year strategy to upgrade port and rail infrastructure and extend Hudson Bay shipping seasons
• Under the agreement, Manitoba will lead federal funding efforts while Saskatchewan mobilizes commodity producers and exporters to leverage new Arctic trade routes
• Arctic Gateway, owned by Indigenous and northern communities, will invest in freight capacity expansions and operational upgrades at Canada’s only deepwater Arctic port serviced by rail
• CEO Chris Avery says the port is already handling over 20,000 tonnes of zinc exports this summer and that climate-driven ice melt could allow longer shipping windows
• A parallel memorandum among Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan for a James Bay port highlights competing efforts to diversify Canada’s northern export corridors