By Lindsey Ward, Winnipeg Free Press
Geography has always been in Manitoba’s favour when it comes to trade. Friendliness has always been in Manitoba’s favour when it comes to doing business. Combine the two and you have a foundation for supply chain success.
Despite decades of sometimes literal roadblocks, Manitoba has been busy now that it’s finally realizing its potential as a critical component of Canada’s supply chain — and a big player in international trade. But, as always, the keystone province fondly referred to as the centre of Canada remains humble.
“We’re not really good at bragging,” says Rick Reid, CEO of Supply Chain Manitoba, the country’s largest association of supply chain professionals, which provides education and training to over 5,000 members.
“Up here, it seems like there are a lot of people doing their business and being successful at it, but they don’t really want to talk about it. I respect that, but it does kind of leave an impression that there’s not a lot going on here when in fact there’s quite a bit.”
Even “quite a bit” feels like an understatement when you check in with CentrePort Canada. In just 15 years, the tri-modal inland port based in Winnipeg and Rosser has gone from vast rural land to a multifunctional gateway to more than 100 million consumers. With the support of all three levels of government along with private investors, CentrePort has already been able to turn thousands of its 20,000 acres of land into industrial space that hundreds of companies use as a home base while they flow their goods into the hub and out to the world via rail, truck or plane. Essentially, CentrePort is not only ensuring Manitoba is part of the conversation about supply chains but leading it — creating jobs and boosting its GDP along the way.
“It really is a testament to if you get smart infrastructure invested in and in place, private industry will respond by investing rapidly,” says Carly Edmundson, CEO of CentrePort Canada.
“I think historically this whole ‘Chicago of the North’ and being at the intersection of two rivers and those key pieces of the puzzle have set us up to be a key place to move goods around the world. It was really the business community that came together and said it’s time to reinvigorate this idea of us being this trade hub in the middle of the continent.”
Turning Manitoba into a trade destination is truly a group effort; the companies paving the way are as interconnected as the supply chain itself. Along with its top trucking companies and Class 1 railways, CentrePort works closely with the Winnipeg Airports Authority. Nick Hays, CEO of the WAA, agrees location and an amicable business community are what make the province so unique.
“An understated part of Manitoba’s appeal is its people,” he says. “And that is demonstrated in the business community as there is an eagerness to work together. There is an understanding here that we need to work together to build this province in a way that honours the past and realizes the tremendous opportunity for the future. And others are taking notice as we are experiencing a Manitoba moment.”
Recent years have seen an increasing demand for cargo flights out of Winnipeg Richardson International Airport, which has recently broken ground on a new multi-tenant air cargo logistics facility located off Sargent Avenue. It will provide modern infrastructure — including a CEIV-certified cold storage facility to house and ship certified cold products like fresh pork, vaccines and pharmaceuticals — that allows the province to compete on a global trade stage.
The Winnipeg Airports Authority is also in the planning stages for the development of the west side of the airport that will tap into over 200 acres of unused airport property.
“As so many global airports are land-locked, we have a unique opportunity in Manitoba and can offer something others cannot — a place to grow,” Hays says. “And that also means the jobs and economic benefits that come from shipping those products also stay right here in Manitoba.”
Even companies such as Fort Garry Fire Trucks — which ships its products by land — enjoy the benefits of a tri-modal port. The homegrown fire apparatus manufacturer that had its start making buses in 1919 in a back lane between Fort and Garry streets is now one of the top 10 companies of its kind in North America. Along with a complete line of fire trucks, they manufacture rubber as well as water and septic trucks and have recently created a home base in CentrePort. From there, their trucks are shipped primarily around Canada and the United States, but they also ship internationally — as far as the United Arab Emirates, where 54 of their fire trucks are utilized by the military.
“For us, we’re in a CentrePort business port because we want to be close to the airport,” says Fort Garry Fire Trucks’ CEO Rick Suche, who recently celebrated his 45th year with the company. “We don’t ship by air but generally our customers will come in for a preconstruction meeting and a final inspection. It’s very important also being close to the road transportation. Ninety-nine per cent of our trucks are driven out because we hire contract fire chiefs who have the proper training that will drive the trucks.”
For Fort Garry Fire Trucks and other local manufacturers, shipping internationally typically involves first moving their goods to ports outside of the province or country. But another rapidly growing supply chain solution could change their way of doing business — while reimagining Northern Manitoba as a coastal community.
Enter the Port of Churchill — the only Northern Arctic seaport in Canada that’s rail connected to the southern parts of the country and the only seaport in the Prairies. Its very existence makes Manitoba a “maritime province”, says Chris Avery, CEO of Arctic Gateway Group, a fully Indigenous and community-owned partnership that operates the Port of Churchill and the Hudson Bay Railway. “I think from a supply chain perspective, we are a very unique story for Manitoba,” he says.
The Port of Churchill was opened in 1931 and remained under federal government ownership until it was sold along with the Hudson Bay Railway to American company OmniTRAX in 1997. Tensions mounted as OmniTRAX continued to profit from the gateways but failed to reinvest in their infrastructure and into the country itself. Things came to a head in 2017 when the company refused to fix the railway after significant spring flooding washed it out and imperilled the northern communities it was servicing.
The Government of Canada financially supported the acquisition of the rail line and port, and in 2018 Arctic Gateway Group assumed ownership of what’s now referred to as the Arctic Trade Corridor. They have since been tirelessly refurbishing the abandoned railway (which is now fully functional) and surrounding highways along with the port to create a supply chain option with huge potential.
“This gateway to the direct line from the Port of Churchill through the Hudson Bay into the Atlantic gives the vast natural resources of Western Canada access to the most global markets in the most direct and efficient way,” Avery says.
Arctic Gateway Group made history this past summer with the first transport of 10,000 tonnes of zinc concentrate mined in Manitoba with the Hudson Bay Railway to the Port of Churchill, where it was loaded onto a ship that departed for Europe in early August.
“That was the first-ever export of critical minerals from the Port of Churchill and we are optimistic it’s the start of many more to come,” Avery says. “It was a huge milestone for us.” Avery adds that for a country of its size and with a vast Arctic coastline, it only makes sense for Canada to fully develop its existing Northern Arctic seaport. Upon achieving its business objectives, the Port of Churchill is expected to exceed $1 billion of associated annual Canadian GDP and support over 5,500 jobs once it’s fully developed. Indigenous economic reconciliation with surrounding communities will provide ongoing business and employment opportunities that will have a positive socioeconomic impact throughout the Northern Manitoba and Nunavut region.
“As we invest in this infrastructure and as we build this business, there will be opportunities to create Northern growth, which will generate jobs,” Avery says. In fact, job creation and growth for all industries across the province will result from a strengthened supply chain. Companies that find ways to fill goods and service gaps, shorten their supply chain and take a more sustainable approach while reducing their carbon footprint are going to reap the most benefits going forward.
“If you can deliver your goods faster, cheaper and more consistently than your competitor, you have a competitive advantage,” Reid says. “The question is, can we produce goods in a way that allows us to get access to other markets where we’re competitive with the world?”
Circular concepts such as wood waste being turned into pallets for energy, repurposing steel and reprocessing plastics are some examples, Reid says.
“Supply chains are always looking for a way to reduce costs. One of the biggest costs is freight,” he says.
“For example, the transportation costs for sourcing recycled plastics nearby is less expensive than transporting new product from outside the province or internationally.” Having trade agreements in place also allows Manitoba to be more competitive on an international scale. Edmundson says Canada is known for being progressive and pro-trade, and CentrePort helps lead the way as the country’s first designated foreign trade zone. “Companies on site can access different programs that have different advantages,” she says. “For example, companies can establish customs bonded warehouses in their facilities.”
The United States is Manitoba’s biggest trading partner, and thanks to the 2023 merger between the Canadian Pacific Railway and Kansas City Railway, there’s more connectivity than ever from the northern terminus of the railway at CentrePort Canada Rail Park all the way down to Mexico. CentrePort’s location at the intersection of four trade gateways — the Mid-Continent Corridor, the Asia Pacific Gateway, the Atlantic Gateway and now the Arctic Gateway — allows Manitoba companies to reach foreign markets in an entirely new way, Edmundson says.
“Go north to reach a seaport that can get you to European markets faster than the Panama Canal can. Go south to a very efficient border crossing and an artery right through the centre of the United States. And, of course, use our amazing 24-hour international airport if you need to reach anywhere by air. It’s an attractive value proposition for companies that need to have goods coming in and out, which is basically every company.”
For the many businesses already capitalizing on Manitoba’s tri-modal supply chain — Imperial Seed, for example, ships to 30 countries via its CentrePort location — a robust network isn’t just on the horizon. Edmundson says the future is now.
“If I could sit all of Manitoba down, I would tell them that we often talk about this in a future state — ‘we will be this centre of trade and transportation’ — I would argue that we are already there.” ■
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