Churchill port is “our only hope” if Greenland dispute rises, Manitoba premier says

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew says the growing tension over Greenland is yet another reason to have a more fully developed port in the Town of Churchill.

Kinew says the port and the rail line that serve the town on the western shore of Hudson Bay are the only such facilities that feed into the Arctic.

He says they would be essential to maintain Arctic sovereignty.

Canada is mulling whether to send troops to Greenland in a show of solidarity as U.S. President Donald Trump has ramped up talk about taking over the island.

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For Kinew, that has added urgency to a plan being considered by Ottawa to expand the port, which currently faces hurdles such as a short ice-free season and a long rail line through remote terrain that needs upgrading.

Prime Minister Mark Carney confirmed funding in November for a study on the potential of specialized icebreakers, ice tugs and research vessels at the port.

“What is our only hope if this Greenland stuff continues? Churchill,” Kinew said Monday.

“Canada has a lot of great plans for the future, but there’s only one port and one rail line that feeds the Arctic and that would be absolutely essential for us to maintain sovereignty in Canada’s Arctic.”

The port has long being touted as a way to boost trade to Europe via the Arctic Ocean. The expansion of the port and railway is among the federal government’s many proposed nation-building projects. It will require a lot of work, Carney told reporters in Winnipeg in November prior to a meeting with Kinew.