Construction has officially started on a port expansion near Montreal — the first so-called nation-building project that was fast-tracked for approval by the federal government.

Prime Minister Mark Carney was on hand today at the terminal in Contrecœur, Que., about 45 kilometres northeast of Montreal, to announce the start of work.

It’s the first major project, deemed by the federal government to be in the national interest, to get off the ground since Carney became prime minister in March 2025.

Carney’s government had chosen Contrecœur and a series of other “nation-building” projects to be fast-tracked as a way to strengthen and diversify the economy amid trade uncertainty with the United States.

The Port of Montreal’s expansion was referred in September to the government’s major projects office, which helped streamline approvals, develop a financing model and speed up permits.

The government says the project is the largest port expansion in Canadian history and will increase the Port of Montreal’s capacity by approximately 60 per cent and create thousands of jobs.

In a news release, the federal government says the project had been first proposed 40 years ago and had faced delays ever since.

Ottawa said it provided the Montreal Port Authority with $1.16 billion in financing through the Canada Infrastructure Bank.

Residents and environmentalists have expressed concern about the project, describing it as harmful to the aquatic ecosystem and economically unnecessary. The construction site is in the feeding ground of the copper redhorse, a freshwater fish found only in a few rivers in the St. Lawrence Plain.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada authorized the project in the fall after accepting the Montreal Port Authority’s mitigation plan, which includes building a new feeding area for the endangered fish.

The government says a second phase of construction is expected to begin in 2027 and full operations could begin in 2030.