Three logistic facilities in the Canadian province of Manitoba have banded together to establish a new trade routewhich illustrates the realignment of global supply chains.  

Sealed with a memorandum of understanding, the Ports Manitoba Project looks to strengthen Manitoba’s trade network, further diversify Canadian trade routesand provide better access for businesses to global markets. Freight can now leave and enter the middle of Canada without needing to go through the United States to get there. 

The three logistics facilities are the Port of Churchill and Hudson Bay Railway, CentrePort Canada (one of North America’s largest trimodal inland ports and foreign trade zones) and Winnipeg Airport. 

What the Ports Manitoba Project aims to do is align Canada’s Arctic Trade Corridor with the country’s largest inland portand premier cargo airport, connect the Port of Churchill and the Hudson Bay Railway with CentrePort Canada and Winnipeg’s international cargo airport so that shippers see one coordinated system rather than three separate assets, Chris Avery, president and CEO of Arctic Gateway Group said in a statement to Asia Cargo News.  

“This is about better coordination, streamlined engagement for customers and smarter use of existing infrastructure,” Avery added.  

Arctic Gateway Group(AGG) owns and operatesboth the Port of Churchill and the Hudson Bay Railway (HBR), which runs between The Pas and Churchill. At The Pas, the Hudson Bay Railway connects into the Canadian rail system, linking southern Canada to its Arctic coast. 

“The objective is to support Canada’s national goals and diversify Canada’s trade options, improve resilienceand create a two-way corridor that supports exports such as energy, critical minerals, agricultural and resource products, while also handling inbound project cargo and northern supply,” Avery added.  

Precise volume projections will evolve with customer commitments, Avery said, but the direction is clear: diversify the mix of products, increase reliabilityand strengthen two-way trade. “Our work aligns closely with Canada’s broader national objective of building new and more resilient trade corridors,” he added. 

One early part of this is work to improve Churchill. Canada’s only Arctic deep-water port is seasonal due to ice, though Avery stressed to ACNthat its facilities and rail access are year-round. 

To make the entire link year-round Arctic Gateway has partnered with Canadian shipping company Fednav to examine the operational requirements necessary to support year-round cargo movement from the Port of Churchill.  

“The work will examine known ice conditions, patterns, extended shipping seasons, and the efforts and investments required,” AGG said in a statement. This is underway and is expected to be completed this summer, it added.  

Amore immediate gainer and an eager sign-up to the long-term benefits of the project is Winnipeg Airport. 

“With the growth of movements from the Port of Churchill, Manitoba and Winnipeg specifically, we expect to see significant opportunities related to enhanced supply chain competitiveness. Leveraging the Port of Churchill – the shortest link from the Prairies to the Atlantic Ocean – gives access to the Arctic, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and South America, allowing us to diversify trade routes and markets,” said Brad Elias, director of air service and cargo at theWinnipeg Airports Authority, (WAA). 

With the growth of movements from the Port of Churchill, Manitoba and Winnipeg specifically, WAA expects to see significant opportunities related to enhanced supply chain competitiveness.  

“As the airport is located directly adjacent to CentrePort, whose rail park directly connects to Churchill, the growth will have both direct and indirect incremental volume for air cargo,” Elias told Asia Cargo News. 

Winnipeg has four cargo facilities including a new state-of-the-art multi-tenant air cargo facility. 

“This 142,500-square-foot space is nearly complete, and part of this state-of-the-art space is a cold-chain unit that will allow businesses to distribute perishable items, such as pharmaceuticals, medical supplies, fresh and frozen foods, quickly via air,” said Elias.  

In 2025,the airport had 8,724 cargo landings and take-offs with a gross take-off weight of 451,754 tons. Top export commodities were fresh and frozen food, consumer goods, parts and components. Top imports include perishable non-food items, manufactured metal industrial consumables and parts. 

Of the cargo flights,1,070are international. Asia is so far not well-connected but there is a nucleus of business that could be developed. “We have ad hoc charter flights to China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines and Singapore,” Elias said.