Year-round shipping on Hudson Bay without the need for expensive icebreakers is feasible, according to a spokesperson for Premier Wab Kinew. The studies conducted to explore extending the shipping season, a critical element of the proposed Port of Churchill expansion, have shown promising outcomes, as mentioned by Amy Tuckett-McGimpsey on Thursday.
The Manitoba government is set to disclose the findings of these studies on Friday. Arctic Gateway Group, in collaboration with shipping company Fednav, has been working to determine the requirements for enabling year-round shipping at the Port of Churchill. Additionally, a study commissioned by both provincial and federal governments from the Arctic Research Foundation, founded by former Blackberry chair Jim Balsillie, is underway to assess the feasibility of extending the port’s operating season.
While the Fednav study has been completed, the Arctic Research Foundation study is due for completion by March 2027, as per Rebecca Widdicombe, a spokesperson for Kinew. The premier intends to unveil the details of both studies ahead of a summit scheduled for September in Toronto, where he aims to present the Port of Churchill expansion to potential international investors.
In an interview published in the Globe and Mail later on Thursday, Kinew mentioned that the studies indicate a decrease in sea ice could allow for the use of icebreakers costing between $50 million to $100 million, rather than the much costlier multibillion-dollar vessels, to navigate Hudson Bay.
The commissioning of icebreakers is just one aspect of the proposed Port of Churchill expansion, which currently operates for about four months during the ice-free season from mid-July to late October or early November. Arctic Gateway Group, representing 29 First Nations and 12 remote northern Manitoba communities, is planning to upgrade the Hudson Bay Railway to handle higher payloads and enhance storage and loading facilities at the port.
Furthermore, the group is exploring options to transport commodities through Hudson Bay earlier and later in the season, utilizing both icebreakers and ice-hardened tugboats. Kinew has even raised the idea of constructing a natural gas or oil pipeline to Churchill and establishing a year-round access road to the community.
An earlier feasibility study conducted by consulting firm PwC in 2023 suggested several short-term, cost-effective opportunities to increase cargo traffic through the Port of Churchill. However, the study was less conclusive about the viability of a more ambitious investment in a northern Manitoba trade corridor.
The study highlighted various opportunities for exporting goods through the port, such as nickel and silica sand, and enhancing its role as a resupply hub for remote Nunavut communities. It also identified potential to ship more grain and potash through the port with additional infrastructure investments.
The report also cautioned that while climate change might lengthen the ice-free season on Hudson Bay in the coming years, it could also introduce challenges like unpredictable navigation due to ice jams and severe storms. PwC warned that climate change could lead to more frequent closures of the Hudson Bay Railway due to thawing permafrost, necessitating costly and continuous maintenance. An all-season road to Churchill was estimated to cost up to $1.2 billion to build and $25 million annually to maintain.
Residents of northern Manitoba expressed support for modest port development, particularly if it enhances Hudson Bay Railway services. However, concerns were raised about larger industrial developments impacting the environment and the town’s ecotourism standing. Opposition was strong against any plans involving oil transportation through the Hudson Bay Railway or the Port of Churchill, as well as activities potentially harming the marine environment vital to Inuit and Indigenous communities.
Arctic Gateway CEO Chris Avery noted that the 2023 PwC report was conducted before Canada’s intensified focus on major projects and reaffirmed the group’s strategy of creating a diversified and resilient business at the port. The federal government recognized the Port of Churchill expansion as “nationally significant infrastructure” in 2025 but did not grant it approval as a major national project.
CBC News has not independently verified the contents of the studies mentioned.