Future points to northern partnerships

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This article was published 27/02/2024 (597 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The temperature may be dropping, but the weather’s still warmer than Nunavut.

It’s during this relatively balmy week that business leaders from Nunavut and Manitoba will rub shoulders, discussing economic partnerships and the energy sector’s future.

“It’s early stages,” the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce’s president said of the province and territory’s relationship.

Chuck Davidson plans to attend much of the Northern Perspectives conference. The event will run today through Thursday.

Renewable energy takes a spotlight. Housing needs, transportation, food security and education in Nunavut have allotted conference time, as does Manitoba’s Port of Churchill.

Last week, the provincial and federal governments made a joint $60-million commitment to finishing upgrades on the Hudson Bay Railway and beginning repairs on the Port of Churchill, which accommodates trade between Manitoba and Nunavut.

“For the longest time, it’s been a bit of a one-sided relationship,” Davidson said.

Nunavut residents travel south for doctors’ appointments and vacation, he noted. Flights leave Winnipeg for Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, daily.

Meantime, businesses in other parts of the country are building infrastructure in the northern territory — it’s a space Manitoba needs to occupy more, Davidson stated.

“From a proximity standpoint, it makes a lot more sense,” he said.

Over the last two years, resupply shipments through the Port of Churchill to Nunavut have increased drastically. There are also plans of a 1,200-kilometre hydroelectric transmission line between Gillam and the Kivalliq region. Ottawa has committed at least $11.6 million to funding the project.

Premier Wab Kinew is scheduled to speak about energy at the conference today.

“There’s potential for billions of dollars to flow as a result of this,” Davidson exclaimed. “But we need to develop that relationship first.”

The Manitoba Chambers of Commerce sent a delegation to the Kivalliq region in 2023 to discuss potential business partnerships.

The Kivalliq and Baffin Regional chambers of commerce are slated to host the conference at the Winnipeg Art Gallery.

Carly Edmundson, president of CentrePort — North America’s largest inland port — will sit on a panel highlighting the Port of Churchill.

“There’s a lot of potential that exists in the north,” she said. “The more we can move goods both through CentrePort and the Port of Churchill, the more we’ll continue to establish Manitoba as a leader in trade and transportation.”

Often, goods in Manitoba slated for Nunavut travel through the Port of Montreal before reaching their final destination.

Upgrades to the Port of Churchill, which are anticipated to begin over the next few years, should make Manitoba’s access point competitive with Quebec’s, said Michael Woelcke, Arctic Gateway Group’s chief executive.

“Every additional kilometre, it costs more money for shipping goods,” he noted. “That cost gets passed on to the consumer.”

The conference will include a trade show and arts market open to the public.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com