Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew says he proposed the building of a “northern trade corridor” during a May 7 call with the premiers and prime minister, which he said would help western provinces connect their resources to international markets through Hudson Bay.
“There’s been so much talk about getting resources in Western Canada to tidewater and Hudson Bay. I think now’s the time for us to go out into the market, the private sector, and see if that’s something real, if that’s something that the business community can make happen,” Kinew said in a May 7 interview with CBC News.
Kinew said his province has been working alongside First Nations to determine what the “appetite” is for shipping agricultural, energy, and mineral products through the port of Churchill in northern Manitoba. The town of less than 1,000 people is Canada’s primary seaport to the Arctic Ocean.
The province announced in February that it would be investing $36.4 million over two years in port and rail developments for the town. In March, the federal government also announced $175 million over five years to support the operations of the Hudson Bay Railway that links Churchill to the rest of Manitoba.
Kinew said following the April 28 federal election the provinces and Ottawa need to work through “some post-election sentiment” by “building big things together.” He said the federal government’s focus on getting western resources to international markets will also encourage economic activity in the eastern and northern regions of the country.
“If we roll up our sleeves and we say now is the time to build big things in this country so that we can build up the Canadian economy, build up the Canadian worker, I think that’s how we can make sure that every region of the country feels like they’re invested in Team Canada’s future,” Kinew said.
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According to a readout from the Prime Minister’s Office, the First Ministers’ meeting had focused on the Canada-U.S. trade relationship, as well as building “projects of national interest to diversify the economy, create higher-paying jobs, and build one Canadian economy instead of 13.”
The premiers have been focused on reducing interprovincial trade barriers and finding new international export markets after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed different sets of tariffs on Canada.
The release said Ottawa and the premiers agreed to speed up project approvals through the federal government’s “one project, one review” approach, and that Prime Minister Mark Carney reiterated that he will table legislation to eliminate trade barriers before July 1.
