The government of Canada on Sept. 11 reported that the Contrecoeur Container Terminal project in Montréal, Quebec, is part of the first series of projects being referred to the new Major Projects Office (MPO) for consideration, and that several strategies, including for the Port of Churchill and Alto High-Speed Rail projects, “could be truly transformative for this country.”
According to the government, the Contrecoeur Container Terminal project at the Port of Montreal in Central and Eastern Canada would expand the current port infrastructure, adding port terminals and additional wharves, as well as other infrastructure that would increase the port’s handling capacity by about 60% along the St. Lawrence River, one of Canada’s trade arteries. The project would include the construction of a 675-meter wharf with two berths to accommodate vessels from 39,000 to 75,400 deadweight tons, as well as the development of a seven-track rail yard, a container storage and handling area, an intermodal rail yard, support buildings, rail and road access, and a truck control area.
“Investing in critical port infrastructure now will prevent significant congestion and capacity issues, which could lead to higher transportation costs for businesses and consumers,” the government of Canada said. “Greater port capacity builds resilience in Canada’s supply chain and empowers Canadian exporters to sell their products on international markets.”
The Contrecoeur Container Terminal project is part of the first series of projects being advanced to the MPO for consideration. The other projects are: LNG Canada Phase 2, Kitimat, British Columbia; Darlington New Nuclear Project, Bowmanville, Ontario; McIlvenna Bay Foran Copper Mine Project, East-Central Saskatchewan; and Red Chris Mine expansion, Northwest British Columbia. Together, these projects are said to represent investments of more than C$60 billion.
“The first projects have achieved many regulatory milestones and have undertaken extensive engagement with Indigenous Peoples, provincial governments, local authorities, proponents, and other stakeholders,” the government of Canada reported. “For these first projects, the work of the MPO will be to close final regulatory and permitting gaps, coordinate with provinces and territories, and ensure financing plans can be achieved. As well, it will recommend to the federal government to ensure proponents can make final investment decisions in the right timeframe.”
In addition to these projects, the government of Canada said it “believes that there are several strategies for projects that could be truly transformative for this country, which are at an earlier stage and require further development.” Those related to rail include:
- “Port of Churchill Plus: Rooted in partnership with Indigenous Peoples, including in co-operation with Manitoba’s Crown-Indigenous Corporation, this project will upgrade the Port of Churchill and expand trade corridors with an all-weather road, an upgraded rail line, a new energy corridor, and marine ice-breaking capacity. The approach will prioritize Indigenous equity ownership in developing the projects needed to turn the Port of Churchill into a major four‑season and dual-use gateway for the region. Expanded export capacity in the North through Hudson Bay will contribute to increased and diversified trade with Europe and other partners, while more strongly linking Churchill to the rest of Canada.”
- “Alto High-Speed Rail: Canada’s first high-speed railway, spanning approximately 1,000 km from Toronto to Québec City and reaching speeds of up to 300 km/hour to cut travel times in half and connect close to half of Canada’s population. This is a project that could create 51,000 jobs during construction and inject up to $35 billion into our GDP—with a target of 25 million tonnes in emissions savings. The MPO will work to accelerate engineering, regulatory, and permitting work to enable construction of the project to start in four years, cutting the original eight-year timeline in half.”
The government of Canada said the MPO will create business development teams that will work with private-sector proponents, provinces, territories, and Indigenous Peoples to advance these two concepts plus four others—Critical Minerals Strategy, Wind West Atlantic Energy, Pathways Plus, and Arctic Economic and Security Corridor—so that projects “have certainty in regulatory process and timing to accelerate Canada’s ability to attract broad sources of capital to grow, diversify, and strengthen our economy.”
