The world is changing and so is Canada. As our country diversifies trading relationships, we have a big advantage: Canada produces many of the things the world needs, from food and fertilizer to critical minerals and energy. What we need now is better infrastructure to get those products to global markets.

At Arctic Gateway Group, we know Churchill can be an important part of that next generation of Canadian trade infrastructure. Through the Hudson Bay Railway and Port of Churchill, we operate a corridor connecting Western Canada and the North American rail network to Canada’s only deepwater northern seaport, providing another route for Canadian products to reach customers in Europe and around the world.

We are already demonstrating what this northern trade route can do. This year, we are exporting grain through the port, along with critical minerals, potash and supplies destined for Nunavut, and this is only the beginning. Western Canada has massive mineral, energy and agricultural resources, and our allies are actively seeking trusted, secure, and reliable sources of these commodities.

There is major investment opportunity for this kind of trade-enabling infrastructure. Export Development Canada recently said that increasing Canada’s non-U.S. trade by 10 percentage points would require moving four times the volume currently handled by the Port of Vancouver. Meeting that challenge will require public investment, but it also creates a real opportunity for pension funds, institutional investors and other sources of private capital to invest alongside governments in infrastructure that will generate economic value and returns for generations.

The opportunity is also growing as marine technology advances and conditions in Hudson Bay change. Recent technical work has reinforced our confidence that commercial shipping at Churchill can move toward year-round operations with appropriately designed ice-class vessels. That means we should no longer think about Churchill simply as a seasonal regional port, but as an emerging major port and national trade corridor with the potential to provide Canada with significant additional export and import capacity.

There is another important part of the investment case. Arctic Gateway Group is owned by 29 First Nations and 12 northern Manitoba communities, so investors who partner with us are investing alongside Indigenous and northern communities with a direct stake in the corridor’s long-term success.

Public and private investment can work together to advance this trade corrdior. The same kinds of enabling investments that have helped de-risk and unlock major projects elsewhere in Canada will work in Churchill, starting with bringing the Hudson Bay Railway up to modern industrial weight standards. Doing so requires increasing its current weight capacity by only about eight per cent, which would significantly expand the railway’s ability to support the major industrial projects and export volumes that are now being contemplated. Government investment in this core trade infrastructure will allow private sector investments to participate in this nation building project, especially in building up the Port. Major ports and railways in Canada deliver strong operating margins and Churchill represents a tremendous long-term investment for many institutional and non-institutional fund managers.

Canada wants to diversify trade, strengthen our Arctic presence, develop natural resources and advance Indigenous economic reconciliation. Churchill represents an opportunity to advance all those national objectives while building an asset that can serve Canadians and generate value for decades to come.

The world is changing, and Canada is, too. This country has never been a better place to invest, and Churchill is a unique opportunity to establish a major new Canadian trade route. We’re ready, open for business, and stepping up to be an important part of building a stronger Canada.

Chris Avery is the president and CEO of the Arctic Gateway Group.

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