THUNDER BAY — The CEO of the Port of Thunder Bay isn't losing sleep over planned upgrades to infrastructure for shipping cargo through Churchill, Manitoba.
"I don't think Churchill – if they get it up and running again – poses a significant competitive challenge for Thunder Bay," said Chris Heikkinen.
The Manitoba and federal governments recently announced an investment of up to $60 million for the Arctic Gateway Group, a partnership of First Nation and other communities that operates the Hudson Bay Railway and the Port of Churchill.
Each government will contribute $30 million to complete ongoing work on the railway and begin the redevelopment of port facilities.
The money is in addition to significant previous funding from both governments for railway upgrades.
Over the years, service has been disrupted due to the boggy terrain the line crosses.
Heikkinen said Thunder Bay currently handles about 80 per cent of Manitoba-grown grain moving through Canadian ports, and that shipping capacity at Churchill is limited by a short season.
"It's mere weeks in comparison with our season, which is closing in on 10 months. Of course, climate change could move that needle somewhat, but I think that the sub-Arctic climate has a long way to go to provide enough of a shipping season there to really compete with the Seaway shipping season, especially as our season continues to expand."
To put things in perspective, he noted Thunder Bay's elevators process an average of eight million tons of grain a year for overseas markets, whereas Churchill at its peak handled about 600,000 tons in one year.
"Our supply chain services some of the largest grain companies in the world. I'm confident in retaining that grain business over the long term."
In any case, it's questionable when or whether Churchill will regain its position in the grain sector.
After the Canadian Wheat Board's marketing monopoly ended in 2012, shipments plummeted, then stopped in 2015 for four years before being put on hold again in 2021.
But the Manitoba and federal governments have also committed to facilitating the growth of Churchill's capacity to handle other export cargos, including minerals and other natural resource products, as well as imports.
The Port of Thunder Bay continues to improve its own infrastructure with the aim of retaining existing customers while also diversifying the kinds of cargo it handles.
Heikkinen said shovels will be in the ground this spring to finish a rail upgrade project that was started in 2023 at Keefer Terminal.
"We're upgrading a lot of the rail track adjacent to the terminal. We're finding that access to rail is becoming really, really vital for local industry. We've also got a lot of lay-down area expansion that's going to be taking place. We need to be able to accommodate growing volumes of both wind turbine project cargos at Keefer, as well as the steel business which just continues to grow."
