Port of Churchill Restarts Grain Shipments for First Time in 6 Years

For the first time in six years, the Port of Churchill is shipping grain for export, marking a milestone in the revitalization of Canada’s only deepwater Arctic seaport as a gateway for Prairie farmers.

The port began loading 30,000 tonnes of durum wheat from Saskatchewan’s AGT Foods into a vessel on Aug. 31, with the ship to deliver the product to customers in Europe. The vessel is expected to sail this week, while Arctic Gateway Group (AGG), which owns the port, plans to ship two more grain vessels this season.

Another ship will arrive this week to be loaded with zinc concentrate and potash mined in Manitoba.

Rebecca Chartrand, federal minister of Northern and Arctic Affairs and MP for Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, said the last grain shipment in 2020 could have been the end of the port, but businesspeople instead saw an opportunity to rebuild infrastructure that northern and indigenous communities would own.

“This moment is six years in the making,” she said at a ceremony on Aug. 31 marking the first grain shipment from the port since 2020.

Chief Betsy Kennedy, leader of War Lake First Nation and a founding member of AGG, called the day “momentous,” noting that many friends and family members helped build the rail line.

Seeing the ship and rail cars was “very deeply personal” because Kennedy was born along the rail line and regularly saw trains transporting grain north.

“For the communities like War Lake, the rail line is a lifeline,” she said, noting that it connects people, brings essential goods, and provides jobs and opportunities.

Her grandfather and father both worked on the railway and wished they could own the line, Kennedy added, making the current ownership especially meaningful.

Mike Spence, board chairman of AGG and mayor of Churchill, said the grain shipment would help AGG rebuild what was lost while building something bigger. The port is also preparing to ship nearly 28,000 tonnes of zinc and its inaugural shipment of potash.

“That’s remarkable, isn’t it?” Spence said, adding that the port’s revitalization demonstrates the dedication, hard work, and focus of Manitobans and other Western Canadians.

By shipping different commodities through Churchill, the port can help Canada diversify its exports and enhance its trading role, he added.

Ron Kostyshyn, Manitoba’s agriculture minister, said the return of Prairie grain shipments through Churchill was an important milestone that could help producers reach more customers and strengthen supply chains.

“The world is not as big as it used to be,” he said, calling Churchill a “corridor of opportunity” for moving Manitoba commodities to other countries “in a world that is changing.”

Canada ships wheat, durum, oats, barley, and oilseeds to more than 120 countries, while the three Prairie provinces are “the heartland of agriculture” in Canada, Kostyshyn said.

The port shipped a record 657,000 tonnes of grain in 2010, he added.

James Thorsteinson, Saskatchewan MLA for Cut Knife-Turtleford and legislative secretary to the agriculture minister, said the return of Prairie grain shipments was a positive step in revitalizing Canada’s northern trade corridor.

Saskatchewan has 16.4 million hectares (41 million acres) of cropland, representing 47 percent of Canada’s total, and produced a record 41.9 million tonnes of crops last year, Thorsteinson said.

“I am confident there will be many more successes through the Port of Churchill,” Thorsteinson said.