Canada awards C$175M to support Hudson Bay Railway

The Canadian government last week announced the award of C$175 million over five years to support operations and maintenance of the Hudson Bay Railway (HBR) and pre-development activities at the Port of Churchill in northern Manitoba.

The port is owned by Arctic Gateway Group (AGG), a partnership of 29 First Nations and 12 isolated communities served by HBR, which is critical to Indigenous reconciliation, connecting communities and economic development, including the development of critical minerals and tourism, according government officials said in a Transport Canada press release.

Both the HBR and the port play an important role in ensuring supplies reach northern Manitoba and Nunavut, they added. Starting in 2025-26, the following funding will be shared between Transport Canada and Prairies Economic Development Canada:

• In total, C$125 million will go towards the continued operations and maintenance of the Hudson Bay Railway over five years through Transport Canada’s Remote Passenger Rail Program. This funding is to be offset by $43.8 million previously announced in the Fall Economic Statement 2024; and

• C$50 million for the pre-development activities at the port over five years will be administered by Prairies Economic Development Canada.

The HBR is the only surface transportation option that is available year-round between several remote and Indigenous communities in northern Manitoba from The Pas to Churchill. It also links the Port of Churchill, Canada's only deep-water Arctic port, to the North American transportation network.