Project Spotlight

Port of Montreal Contrecoeur Container Terminal

The Montreal Port Authority (MPA) is building a new container terminal at Contrecoeur, Quebec, approximately 40 kilometres northeast of Montreal on the St. Lawrence River. The project will expand port infrastructure by adding port terminals and additional wharves, increasing the port’s handling capacity. Once complete, the terminal will add approximately 1.15 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of annual capacity, increasing the port’s container handling capacity by roughly 60 per cent. 

The project has been the subject of meticulous planning since the late 1980s, and the vision for this terminal expansion was first proposed nearly 40 years ago. On 9 April 2026, the Government of Canada announced the start of construction of the project.  

Overview

The total cost of the project is estimated at C$2.3 billion. The project is delivered through a hybrid approach. In-water works are overseen by the MPA and have been planned in collaboration with the Contrecoeur Terminal Constructors General Partnership (CTCGP), a consortium of Pomerleau (60 per cent) and Aecon (40 per cent), using a collaborative design-build approach. Land works and operations are under the responsibility of DP World in Canada (a joint venture between DP World and La Caisse), which will lead the construction of the terminal, including the container yard, buildings, utilities and rail connection, and ensure its operation and maintenance for the next 40 years. 

The terminal will feature on-dock rail connecting to the national network of CN.

Key Facts

Sources: Major Projects Office; Canada Infrastructure Bank; DP World; Engineering News-Record

Development

The Montreal Port Authority has been planning the Contrecoeur expansion since the late 1980s, and the project is the most ambitious undertaken by the MPA in recent history. 

On 1 March 2021, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change announced that the proposed Contrecoeur Port Terminal Expansion Project could proceed following a science-based environmental assessment process. The Minister’s decision statement set out 330 legally binding conditions that the proponent would be required to comply with throughout the life of the project. 

On 27 November 2025, an amended decision statement was issued. The project was one of five initial projects referred by the Prime Minister to the Major Projects Office on 11 September 2025 for consideration as a project of national importance. 

The MPA and DP World in Canada signed a Joint Development Agreement on 28 August 2025 for the design of the land-based works of the future container terminal. DP World will be responsible for land works and operations, including construction of the terminal and its operation and maintenance for the next 40 years. 

Sources: Impact Assessment Agency of Canada; Major Projects Office; DP World

Development Stage (October 2026)

Status: Under construction

• Environmental assessment approved with 330 conditions (March 2021); amended decision statement issued with 388 binding conditions (November 2025) 

• Referred to the Major Projects Office as a project of national importance (11 September 2025) 

• MOU signed between Major Projects Office, Canada Infrastructure Bank and MPA (29 September 2025) 

• Site preparation work commenced and in-water works contract awarded to CTCGP consortium (October 2025) 

• Fisheries Act authorisation obtained for copper redhorse habitat offsetting plan (16 October 2025) 

• Fisheries and Oceans Canada authorisation obtained under the Fisheries Act and Species at Risk Act for in-water works and wharf construction (5 January 2026) 

• CIB financing of C$1.16 billion finalised (April 2026) 

• Government of Canada groundbreaking announced by Prime Minister Mark Carney (9 April 2026) 

• In-water construction work began (14 August 2026), including working jetty, terminal wharf and marine infrastructure 

• Wharf construction with steel casing piles and sheet piles commenced (autumn 2026) 

• Dredging planned for 2027; land-side works expected to begin 2027 

• Terminal design and construction/operating agreement with DP World Canada being finalised

Sources:  Major Projects Office; MPA construction updates; ReNew Canada

Timeline

Sources: Major Projects Office; Impact Assessment Agency of Canada; CIB; Prime Minister of Canada

Cost Summary

 The total cost of the project is estimated at C$2.3 billion.

More than 85 per cent of infrastructure costs will be borne by the private sector. The CIB loan helps minimise the project’s cost of capital, allowing the MPA to maintain its investment-grade credit rating while preserving cash flows for ongoing operations. 

The in-water works contract with the CTCGP consortium is valued at C$435 million, covering dredging, quay and return walls, and related marine infrastructure.

Sources:  Canada Infrastructure Bank; Transport Canada; Maritime Magazine; Engineering News-Record

Regulatory Status

On 1 March 2021, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change announced that the project could proceed. The decision followed an environmental assessment under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012, which concluded that the project was not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects when mitigation measures were taken into account. The decision statement set out 330 legally binding conditions.

An amended decision statement was issued on 27 November 2025. The terminal has been designed to meet 388 binding conditions set by the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada.

On 16 October 2025, the MPA obtained a Species at Risk Act compliant Fisheries Act authorisation from Fisheries and Oceans Canada for the implementation of an offsetting plan to create additional copper redhorse feeding grounds. On 5 January 2026, the MPA obtained a second Species at Risk Act compliant Fisheries Act authorisation to regulate the impacts on fish and fish habitat of the project’s in-water works and wharf construction.

The project was referred to the Major Projects Office on 11 September 2025. This is the first major port project to enter construction under the federal government’s Major Projects Office.

Sources: Impact Assessment Agency of Canada; Major Projects Office; Prime Minister of Canada

Indigenous Participation

The Montreal Port Authority has consulted and developed relationships with three First Nations throughout the environmental assessment process and the project’s development: 

• The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake

• The W8banaki Nation, represented by the Grand Conseil de la Nation Waban-Aki and the councils of Odanak and Wolinak

• The Huron-Wendat Nation

During the environmental assessment process, the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada took into account the concerns and observations of the Mohawks of Kahnawake, the W8banaki Nation and the Huron-Wendat Nation.

Since 2021, the MPA has held over 50 consultation sessions with the Nations. In collaboration with these Nations, the MPA co-developed a Charter of Collaboration outlining commitments related to environmental stewardship, employment and training, procurement opportunities for Indigenous businesses, and community support.

In connection with the decision statement, the MPA has the obligation to communicate with, consult and involve First Nations at several levels in the project for a range of environmental conditions. The Port of Montreal has committed to go beyond its obligations by implementing its Charter of Collaboration with Indigenous Peoples.

The decision statement requires the proponent to consult with the Mohawks of Kahnawake First Nation, the Indigenous Community of Odanak and Wolinak, and the Huron-Wendat Nation prior to any potential changes to the designated project.

Consultation activities with First Nations were conducted between May 2021 and December 2025, and continue into 2026.

Sources:  MPA Community Relations; Transport Canada; Impact Assessment Agency of Canada

Technical Specifications

• Capacity: 1.15 million TEUs maximum annual handling; two berths

• Wharf: 675 metres

• Infrastructure: Container handling equipment, container yard, intermodal rail yard, truck gate, buildings and utilities

• Rail connection: On-dock rail connected to CN’s national network, together with access to Highway 30

• Market focus: Transatlantic shipping routes and northeastern North American trade, with the shortest shipping route from North America’s industrial heartland to Europe and the Mediterranean

•  Delivery model: Hybrid approach with in-water works under MPA/CTCGP and land works under DP World in Canada

• Environmental compliance: 388 binding conditions under the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada

Sources: MPA project page; Engineering News-Record; DredgeWire; Railway Age

Resources

• Major Projects Office, Contrecoeur Container Terminal Project

• Prime Minister of Canada, Contrecoeur groundbreaking announcement, 9 April 2026

• Canada Infrastructure Bank, Contrecoeur Port Terminal

• Transport Canada, PIC briefing note, Contrecoeur Container Terminal Project

• Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, Contrecoeur Port Terminal Expansion Project

• Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, environmental assessment decision, 1 March 2021

• Montreal Port Authority, Contrecoeur Terminal expansion project

• Montreal Port Authority, community relations and First Nations collaboration

• Montreal Port Authority, construction updates

• DP World, Joint Development Agreement announcement, September 2025

• DP World, Contrecoeur expansion groundbreaking, 10 April 2026

• Maritime Magazine, CIB C$1.16 billion loan, 9 April 2026

• ReNew Canada, in-water construction underway, August 2026

• Engineering News-Record, CTCGP contract details