Prairie grain will begin moving to the Port of Churchill later this week, marking the first grain shipment through the northern Manitoba trade corridor since 2020.
Arctic Gateway Group said in a statement Wednesday that grain will begin travelling Friday, July 17, on the Hudson Bay Railway from The Pas to Churchill. Multiple vessels are then expected to carry the grain from the port to international markets later this summer.
The shipment is another milestone in efforts to restore the railway and port, which together form Canada’s only deepwater Arctic seaport connected to the North American rail network.
Arctic Gateway Group chair Mike Spence, who is also the mayor of Churchill, said the return of grain traffic demonstrates the progress made in rebuilding the corridor and its potential to provide Prairie producers with another export route.
The grain movement will be part of what the company expects to be the most diversified shipping season in the port’s history. In addition to grain, Churchill is scheduled to handle critical minerals, potash, and industrial products, as well as supplies and equipment destined for Nunavut.
The statement said this year’s shipments could provide a foundation for rebuilding long-term traffic through the railway and port. The corridor is intended to support Western Canadian resource exports, diversify Canada’s trade routes and strengthen the country’s economic presence in the North.
Arctic Gateway Group president and chief executive officer Chris Avery said the project is designed to create a reliable northern trade corridor while delivering long-term economic benefits to Indigenous and northern communities.
Arctic Gateway Group owns and operates the Hudson Bay Railway, the Port of Churchill and the Churchill Marine Tank Farm. Through its parent company, OneNorth, it is owned by a partnership of 29 First Nations and 12 northern Manitoba communities.
The Port of Churchill historically handled grain supplied through the Canadian Wheat Board. However, grain volumes declined after the federal government ended the Wheat Board’s single-desk marketing system in 2012, allowing grain companies to favour other export terminals. Former owner OmniTRAX said the loss of reliable grain volumes made the port uneconomic and closed its grain operations in 2016.
