Northern trade corridor top of mind as Manitoba premier plans meeting with PM

Premier of Manitoba Wab Kinew arrives for a First Ministers' Meeting in Ottawa, on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

WINNIPEG — Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew is planning to go to Ottawa next week for a meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Kinew says it’s part of a plan the two men have to meet roughly every three months, primarily to discuss the possibility of a northern trade corridor through the Port of Churchill on Hudson Bay.

The project recently made a list of projects being considered as “transformative” by the federal government.

Studies are underway to gauge private-sector interest and examine the use of icebreakers to extend the port’s short shipping season.

Kinew says interim findings from those reports are promising, and private-sector companies in areas such as energy and critical minerals will put money down if the two levels of government move forward.

Manitoba has long touted Churchill, a town of 900 people on the shore of Hudson Bay, as a port with huge potential to ship goods via the Arctic Ocean to Europe and elsewhere.

The trade dispute with the United States, and growing calls to find new ways to ship energy from Western Canada, has renewed interest in the idea.

“We know that energy and critical minerals are the business opportunity here, and in order for that ... to be the best chance that we have to grow our economy, we need icebreaking capacity in the north,” Kinew said Friday.

“There is a clear ability to keep Hudson Bay open to shipping lanes if we have the necessary icebreakers in the region, so this will be one of the points of discussion with the prime minister.”

A full trade corridor would require upgrades to the long rail line that crosses remote areas in northern Manitoba before arriving at Churchill. A pipeline has been floated as a possibility as well.

Kinew announced $51 million for improvements to the rail line last year and a new critical-minerals storage facility at the port.

The project would also require a Crown-Indigenous corporation to guide the work, which the province has yet to establish.

Kinew said his trip to Ottawa will also include meetings with the federal cabinet ministers. A delegation of Manitoba businesses is also set to meet with federal politicians.

Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press