WINNIPEG – Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew says he’s encouraged that the federal budget reaffirms plans to invest in the Port of Churchill and related facilities.
The budget says the federal government is to work to upgrade the port and the rail line to the northern community, and is to expand trade corridors with an all-weather road, a new energy corridor and marine icebreaking capacity.
Ottawa had previously laid out plans to invest in Churchill as one of its nation-building projects, although it is not among five projects planned in an initial round across the country.
The Port of Churchill, on Hudson Bay, offers an export route through the Arctic and to Europe, although it currently operates in a short ice-free season.
On other issues, Kinew says he would have liked the federal budget to extend bilateral health-care funding agreements, one of which is set to expire next year and helps cover staff in care homes and hospitals.
Kinew says he’d also like to see more details of the budget’s plans to spend more on agriculture at a time when producers are being hit by tariffs.
“The positive thing that we saw in this budget was Churchill being mentioned a whole lot, which gives us another sign of momentum that we’re going to build this big nation-building project here in Manitoba,” Kinew said Tuesday.
“To put a finer point on it, there’s an icebreaker (ship) on the cover of their budget document. So, come on, send one of those over here to Manitoba.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2025
Read more on the federal budget at thestar.com
