'Tremendous progress': Repairs to Churchill rail line helping open new economic activities in Manitoba

2024 is turning into a banner year for economic development in northern Manitoba, with an organization crediting repairs to a Churchill railway for the success.

Arctic Gateway Group released a report Friday that said the organization has made a significant effort to repair the once-neglected rail line from The Pas to Churchill, allowing materials to be shipped to the recently reopened Port of Churchill to international markets.

“We've made tremendous progress in the past couple of years and have invested in the railway in such a way that it's in better condition than it's ever been,” said Chris Avery, CEO of Arctic Gateway Group. “The condition is great across all parts of the railway, and we're very much open for business in terms of transporting people, goods and services up to Churchill and connecting to the port.”

Avery noted a summer shipment of 10,000 tonnes of zinc concentrate mined in Manitoba was shipped up the rail line and shipped to Europe.

Zinc concentrate is listed as a critical mineral, something the province is focusing on for economic development in the coming years.

The first ship leaving the Port of Churchill carrying critical minerals in more than two decades on Aug. 16, 2024. (Arctic Gateway Group)

“Hudson Bay Railway and the port of Churchill are key parts of the infrastructure that will help those minerals and the vast resources that we have in Manitoba and Western Canada get to global markets,” Avery said.

Avery said this could help Manitoba become an economic juggernaut.

“We estimate by doing the work that we're doing, connecting the port and opening up the port, that will create over 4,500 jobs across Canada on an annual basis, direct and indirect jobs, and contribute and be associated with over a billion dollars of annual economic activity,” he said.

Avery said Arctic Gateway Group, which is owned by 41 Manitoba First Nations and bay line communities, will be focusing on improvements to the Port of Churchill next.

-with files from CTV’s Daniel Halmarson