Arctic Gateway Group (AGG), an Indigenous- and community-owned Manitoba company that owns and operates the Port of Churchill and the Hudson Bay Railway, has signed separate Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with Invest Tisdale and Sakku Investments Corp. on rail service reestablishment and economic development in the Arctic Trade Corridor.
AGG’s MOU with Invest Tisdale involves reestablishing rail service between Tisdale, Sask., and Churchill, Manitoba, “to cut costs for grain and agricultural producers and create new opportunities in Saskatchewan and Western Canada.” Tisdale is the business center for the agricultural boreal forest area in central Saskatchewan. Located at the junction of Highway 35 and Highway 3, and serviced by the CN Tisdale Subdivision and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Tisdale Subdivision, Tisdale is the grain handling center of the region with five inland grain terminals.
The AGG/Invest Tisdale agreement focuses on a range of economic development projects that leverage the Tisdale Rail Subdivision for import and export activities between Tisdale and Churchill, Manitoba, including:
- Restoration of Two-Way Rail Traffic: Over the next five years, both parties said they “will work collaboratively to ultimately restore two-way rail traffic between Churchill and Tisdale. This includes working with the rail line’s existing owner (CN) to assess the cost of revitalizing its Tisdale Subdivision.”
- Stronger Business Relationships: “The MOU emphasizes building strong business-to-business relationships to ensure the success of the initiative, including strategies to attract new businesses and capital to the region as well as increasing communication between AGG and local businesses.”
AGG noted that a recent economic report by Praxis Management Consulting, a Saskatchewan-based consulting and research firm, “highlighted the significant economic benefits of re-opening the rail line from Tisdale to Hudson Bay. The report indicates this could generate C$69.6 million in annual gross economic activity and create 195 new jobs.”
“We have been advocating for direct rail service to Churchill since 1995 and for the restoration of grain service since 2015,” said Reeve Ian Allan of the Rural Municipality of Tisdale. “The Arctic Port terminal is essential and is ours to lose. We need to take action now, building business-to-business relationships with the ownership group at Arctic Gateway and their vision to see Canada’s Arctic Trade Corridor finally thrive.”
“The Port of Churchill can offer Saskatchewan grain farmers and other businesses major cost savings with a shorter and more direct route to world export markets, as well as for imports of key products such as fertilizers,” said AGG CEO Chris Avery. “By reconnecting Tisdale to the Hudson Bay Railway, we can help grow the economy in Saskatchewan and offer greater supply chain optionality to lessen the impact of strikes and other forms of trade disruption that we’ve seen this year.”
Invest Tisdale said it “fully supports AGG’s call for enhanced infrastructure ‘optionality’ in Canada. The opportunity with the Port of Churchill is particularly significant. Like other regional service centers in Western Canada, Tisdale needs more shipping options to connect to various ports. As productivity continues to increase, these additional options are essential for maintaining competitiveness and reducing bottlenecks. For Tisdale, this means establishing connections to ports in all directions, including inland distribution hubs such as CentrePort in Winnipeg and Saskatoon.”
AGG said it has undertaken recent work “proving the Port of Churchill and Hudson Bay Railway are once again a viable and efficient way to increase import and export trade with global markets. The successful export of critical minerals from the Port of Churchill in August marks a key milestone in AGG’s vision for an efficient, reliable and prosperous Arctic Trade Corridor. This achievement demonstrates AGG’s commitment to revitalizing the Hudson Bay Railway and diversifying the Port of Churchill. With the support of the Government of Canada and the Province of Manitoba, AGG has replaced hundreds of thousands of rail ties along the Hudson Bay Railway, rebuilt multiple bridges, improved the reliability of operations and cut rail travel times by 2.5 hours. These investments have been instrumental in securing important contracts and ensuring the stability and reliability of freight and passenger services.”
AGG’s MOU with Rankin Inlet-based Sakku Investments Corp., the development subsidiary of the Kivalliq Inuit Association, “is aimed at fostering regional economic development, creating new opportunities for growth, while also deepening the historical connection between the Kivalliq Region and Manitoba,” the companies said. “This partnership with Sakku is set to advance joint initiatives that will contribute to the economic growth of both regions, with a focus on transportation, energy and telecommunications, and infrastructure development and workforce development.”
Sakku noted it has been advancing large Kivalliq region projects including the recent acquisition of the Clarion Hotel in Winnipeg as the new Uquutaq Medical Boarding Home, a modular housing manufacturing plant in Nunavut, now under construction in Arviat, and clean energy projects including transmission and solar generation and storage infrastructure. AGG and Sakku will focus on:
- “Continued investments in the Port of Churchill and the Hudson Bay Railway to enhance capacity, efficiency and frequency of service to Nunavut.
- “Exploring new joint ventures in areas such as renewable energy, telecommunications, and innovative technologies.
- “Creating training and employment opportunities for local communities, with a focus on Indigenous and northern populations.
- “Prioritizing projects that align with environmental sustainability and contribute to the long-term well-being of the region.”
“We are excited to partner with Sakku to leverage the Arctic Trade Corridor,” said Chris Avery. “This agreement is designed to bring economic growth and cost savings to Kivallirmiut and Northern Manitoba, while also strengthening northern infrastructure to further assert Canadian Arctic sovereignty.”
“The revival of the Port of Churchill and Hudson Bay Railway is important for the Kivalliq region of Nunavut,” said David Kakuktinniq, President & CEO of Sakku Investments Corp. “We all benefit from increased frequency of resupply ships from Churchill, which will reduce costs for businesses and families in the region. The MOU we’ve signed means more of this work will continue for the benefit of the Kivalliq region. We look forward to working closely with AGG to achieve our shared goals.”
