Port of Churchill

The Port of Churchill is a privately owned port on Hudson Bay in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. Routes from the port connect to the North Atlantic through the Hudson Strait. As of 2008, the port had four deep-sea berths capable of handling Panamax-size vessels for the loading and unloading of grain, bulk commodities, general cargo, and tanker vessels. The port is the northern terminus of the Hudson Bay Railway, which shares the same parent company (Arctic Gateway Group), and cargo connections are made with the Canadian National Railway system at HBR's southern terminus in The Pas. It is the only port of its size and scope in Canada that does not connect directly to the country's road system; all goods shipped overland to and from the port must travel by rail.

The port was built by the Government of Canada and remained under federal government ownership until its sale in 1997 to the American company OmniTRAX for $10. In December 2015, OmniTRAX announced it was negotiating a sale of the port, and the associated Hudson Bay Railway, to a group of First Nations based in northern Manitoba. With no sale finalized by July 2016, OmniTRAX shut down the port and major railroad freight operations along the HBR in August 2016. The railway continued to carry cargo to supply the town of Churchill itself until the line was damaged by flooding on May 23, 2017. The Port and the Hudson Bay Railway were sold to Arctic Gateway Group — a consortium of First Nations, local governments, and corporate investors — in 2018. On July 9, 2019, ships on missions to resupply arctic communities began stopping at the port for additional cargo, and the port began shipping grain again on September 7, 2019. The port and railway came under complete community and Indigenous ownership in 2021, after AGT Food and Ingredients and Fairfax Financial transferred their shares in Arctic Gateway to OneNorth – a consortium of community and Indigenous partners which owned the other fifty-percent of Arctic Gateway's shares.

Due to the 2025 United States trade war with Canada and Mexico, proposals to expand the Port of Churchill to accommodate Canadian Trade with Europe and Asia have become prominent in federal and provincial politics. Bill C-5, an Act to enact the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act and the Building Canada Act, passed in Spring of 2025, opening up the possibility for significant investments. Prime Minister Mark Carney and Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew has signaled that renovations the Port of Churchill would be a priority for their governments. The Government of Canada committed $175 million over five years (starting in 2025-2026) for the Hudson Bay Railway and port expansion activities.