From the Frontier Centre for Public Policy

With U.S. trade risks rising, Manitoba has a fleeting shot to turn Churchill into a year-round Arctic shipping hub. Without bold investment, the North’s economic and strategic promise will slip away.

The window to turn Manitoba’s northern coast into a year-round shipping hub is closing fast

Rising trade tensions with the United States have given Manitoba a rare second chance to develop its northern ports. But if the province doesn’t act decisively, it will miss a historic opportunity to gain a permanent place in global trade—and reinforce Canadian sovereignty.

Manitoba exports billions in agricultural, mineral and manufactured goods to the U.S., so any disruption in that relationship has ripple effects across the province’s economy. Diversifying trade routes isn’t just smart policy: it’s an economic necessity.

Churchill, a small town on the western shore of Hudson Bay in northern Manitoba, is Canada’s only deepwater port connected to the Arctic. Churchill requires regular dredging in an ecologically sensitive area at the mouth of the Churchill River. While most attention has focused on Churchill, its potential will remain limited without serious investment to make it a year-round operation. Right now, it’s only usable during the summer months.

Premier Wab Kinew recently highlighted Churchill as a strategic asset for asserting Canada’s northern sovereignty. That may be true, but symbolic importance alone won’t sustain it. Economic value and operational reliability will. The port’s rail accessibility gives it an advantage if it can handle the volume and meet international trade demands year-round. However, the railway to Churchill is challenged because of unstable permafrost, affecting long-term reliability.

Feiyue Wang, a University of Manitoba professor and Canada Research Chair, sees Churchill as a potential game-changer. As climate predictions see a reduction in sea ice in the Canadian Arctic, shipping lanes that were once blocked for most of the year could become viable trade routes. That’s already happening.

The Arctic Gateway Group has shipped zinc concentrate through Churchill. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and others have promoted sending oil through it. These aren’t just theoretical opportunities: they’re early evidence of what’s possible. But for Churchill to become a true supply chain hub, it needs infrastructure, investment and long-term political commitment.

Governments have already put money into the port and its rail link. But they must finish the job. That means building the capacity for four-season shipping, attracting private investment, and showing that the port will be viable over time. Manitoba should also press Ottawa to maintain a military presence in the region and use the port to reinforce northern sovereignty.

But if Manitoba is serious about developing northern trade infrastructure, it should also consider a second, ambitious alternative.

The Neestanan utility corridor, an Indigenous-led initiative, proposes a new infrastructure route—rail, roads and energy pipelines—across northern Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The corridor would terminate at a year-round, multi-modal port on Hudson Bay, north of the Nelson River. Led by First Nations and Métis communities, Neestanan offers a broader vision for economic reconciliation and northern opportunity. Port Nelson is a deeper water port and its railway line is not in a permafrost zone, making it more feasible for year-round operations.

A century ago, Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier’s government debated whether Churchill or Port Nelson should serve as the main northern terminal. Ottawa initially backed Port Nelson but later abandoned it due to silt accumulation. Churchill became the chosen site.

Today, both locations deserve a fresh look. With modern engineering, sediment shifts and Indigenous-led proposals, what wasn’t feasible in 1910 may now be not only possible, but necessary.

Churchill was originally built to ship Prairie grain to global markets. But its future lies in more than grain. With the right investment, it could handle a much wider range of goods and help secure Canada’s place in the evolving Arctic economy.

In short, the opportunity lies in developing both ports based on their practical and feasible characteristics, aiming to attract private investment.

This is Manitoba’s moment. But the window of opportunity won’t stay open forever. Other jurisdictions are moving faster. Manitoba must act swiftly—before the opportunity is lost.

This is a revised version of an earlier commentary published here

MxM News

Quick Hit:

In a stunning display of political persecution, Brazil’s Supreme Federal Tribunal sentenced conservative former President Jair Bolsonaro to 27 years in prison on trumped-up charges of “crimes against democracy.” The ruling, driven by leftist judges loyal to radical President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, effectively ends Bolsonaro’s political career and underscores the growing use of weaponized courts to silence conservative leaders.

Key Details:

• Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years and 3 months in prison on charges critics say were fabricated to eliminate him from politics.
• U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the conviction as a “witch hunt,” promising America will respond.
• President Donald Trump has already imposed heavy tariffs on Brazil and sanctioned the lead judge, Alexandre de Moraes, for human rights abuses.

Diving Deeper:

The conviction of Jair Bolsonaro marks an unprecedented step in Brazil’s descent into judicial tyranny. A panel of just five STF justices, led by notorious censorship crusader Alexandre de Moraes, claimed Bolsonaro plotted a coup to overturn the 2022 election. Only one justice, Luiz Fux, dissented, while the others rubber-stamped Lula’s narrative of a “digital militia” undermining democracy.

In reality, Bolsonaro’s true crime was daring to challenge Brazil’s rigged electoral system and standing in the way of Lula’s return to power. The conviction is less about defending democracy and more about crushing political opposition. By sentencing Bolsonaro to nearly three decades behind bars and slapping him with a permanent ban from public office, Brazil’s courts have ensured that the conservative movement’s most powerful leader is silenced.

Internationally, outrage is building. Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the ruling as an act of persecution by sanctioned human rights abuser de Moraes, warning the U.S. “will respond accordingly.” Bolsonaro’s lawyers are preparing appeals to international courts, arguing that due process was shredded in a show trial orchestrated by Lula’s allies.

The Trump administration has already taken decisive action, slapping a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian goods and targeting de Moraes with Global Magnitsky sanctions for his authoritarian crackdown on free speech. Bolsonaro’s conviction is certain to deepen tensions with Washington, as conservatives see the case as a test of whether global elites can jail and silence opposition figures without consequence.

For Bolsonaro’s supporters, the ruling is proof that Brazil is sliding into dictatorship under the banner of “defending democracy.” What Lula and his allies call justice looks to many more like the criminalization of conservative thought — a warning of what happens when the Left is allowed to use courts as political weapons.