Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew expressed an openness Tuesday to a potential second port on Hudson Bay as a tool to help ramp up trade with Europe amid trade disputes with the United States.
It was the clearest sign to date that Kinew’s NDP government, elected in 2023, is ready to consider a long-term project to add shipping capacity away from the existing Port of Churchill, where the shipping season is limited to summer and the local economy depends on ecological tourism.
“I would say post-Trump, we’re open to that and to all options, and that a balancing consideration between growing our economy by accessing tidewater in Manitoba while protecting our environment — belugas, polar bears — is super important to get right.” Kinew told reporters following a meeting with representatives from the European Union and 18 member countries.
“And maybe looking at other port opportunities is part of how we sort out that balancing act in Manitoba.”
Ambassadors and high commissioners from the European Union and member countries are on a tour of the Prairie provinces to discuss trade, cultural ties and other matters.
Tuesday’s meeting was a chance to show the countries, which represent a market of 450 million people, that Manitoba is open for increased trade in energy, agriculture and other sectors.
The high-level government talks could lead to companies in Europe investing in trade in critical minerals, energy and other goods that can be shipped through Hudson Bay and the Arctic, Kinew said.
Genevieve Tuts, ambassador of the European Union to Canada, said prior to the meeting that opportunities for more trade exist.
“We want to focus on energy, clean energy and … you have high-level standards,” Tuts told Kinew at the start of the meeting, referring to Manitoba’s low-carbon hydroelectric power.
“We want to focus on raw materials so important for the digital transition, economic co-operation with Indigenous peoples, but also biotech.”
A second port on Hudson Bay — south of Churchill, near the mouth of the Nelson River — has been discussed, on and off, for decades. It has often been dismissed as far too expensive for the amount of material shipped through the region, as well as a potential environmental hazard should oil or other material be part of the plan.
The former Progressive Conservative government promised $6.7 million in 2023, weeks before it was voted out of office, for a feasibility study on the NeeStaNan Utility Corridor project. The idea would see a pipeline or new rail line transport bitumen, potash and other commodities from as far away as Fort McMurray, Alta., to the Nelson River site.
Supporters say Port Nelson could handle larger ships than Churchill and operate beyond Churchill’s limited summer season. But it would require massive infrastructure investments in the remote area.
Kinew said there may be more appetite for big projects in the current international political climate and the desire by many countries to diversify trade.
“What Manitoba brings to the table is low-carbon electricity, tidewater and a government that is serious about working well with Indigenous nations,” the premier said.
“If businesses, whether in the EU or in other parts of Canada, want to come here, I would welcome investment where they bring the capital.”
(This report by Steve lambert of The Canadian Press was first published April 15, 2025)
