MONTREAL – Shipping companies are calling on the federal government to invest in Arctic infrastructure and navigation technology as climate change renders transport corridors more hazardous — all while traffic ramps up.
A group of more than a dozen ship owners and transport companies say northern waters need new port facilities, higher quality satellite imaging and modern mapping that charts the depth of the ocean floor.
The St. Lawrence Ship Operators association says infrastructure upgrades would help meet the growing needs of northern communities and mining firms as well as the threat of foreign actors amid rising global tensions.
David Rivest, president of the Desgagnés Transarctik shipping firm that supplies dozens of northern communities, says a retreat in Arctic sea ice atop a heating planet has unleashed icebergs that can hamper ships but also opened up waterways to more boats, making passage more treacherous.
A study out of the Université du Québec à Montréal found the number of boat trips into Canadian Arctic waters increased by nearly half to 466 between 2011 and 2024.
Shipping association head Saul Polo says his members applaud the federal government’s renewed focus on infrastructure projects and defence spending, but adds that precisely how funding will trickle down to Arctic shipping remains to be seen.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 20, 2025.
