Arctic Gateway Group (AGG) owns and operates the Port of Churchill and the Hudson Bay Railway in northern Manitoba. AGG is a wholly Indigenous and community owned business, with an ownership group of 41 Indigenous and Bayside communities, including 29 First Nations.
Port of Churchill Plus is a transformative strategy referred to the federal Major Projects Office on 11 September 2025. It proposes to upgrade the port and expand trade corridors with an all weather road, a Class 1 railway upgrade, a new energy corridor and marine ice breaking capacity. Combined federal and provincial funding committed to date totals C$262.5 million over five years.
The Port of Churchill sits on the western shore of Hudson Bay and is Canada's only deepwater Arctic port connected to the North American rail network, via the Hudson Bay Railway running from The Pas. It provides the shortest tidewater route from the Prairies to European markets and is the only tidewater access on the Prairies.
The port has handled grain, critical minerals including zinc concentrate and potash, and Arctic community resupply cargo. In July 2026, AGG announced that grain shipments would resume for the first time since 2020, alongside potash and Arctic resupply shipments, in what the company described as its most diversified shipping season since taking ownership.
| Category |
Information |
| Location |
Churchill, Manitoba (Hudson Bay) |
| Proponent | Arctic Gateway Group Limited Partnership |
| Type |
Infrastructure / Transportation |
| MPO designation |
Transformative Strategy (referred 11 September 2025) |
| Status | Operational port and rail line; expansion in pre-development |
| Combined federal and provincial funding committed | C$262.5 million over five years |
The port opened in 1931. Following flooding in 2017 that shut down the rail line under previous owner OmniTrax, Arctic Gateway Group acquired the port and railway from OmniTrax on 31 August 2018, with C$117 million in federal support. Rail service was restored in November 2018.
AGG was originally formed as a public private partnership, held equally between Missinippi Rail LP, a consortium of First Nations and northern communities, and Fairfax Financial Holdings together with AGT Food and Ingredients. In March 2021, Fairfax and AGT transferred their shares to OneNorth, the renamed Missinippi Rail consortium, giving OneNorth full ownership of AGG.
Since 2018, AGG states that it has installed approximately 350,000 railway ties and half a million tonnes of ballast rock along the Hudson Bay Railway. This figure was given by AGG chief executive Chris Avery in April 2025 and reflects cumulative works; separately, government and AGG releases confirm at least 391,000 ties replaced across the 2022 to 2024 construction seasons alone, so the 350,000 figure is a reasonable and likely conservative estimate at the point it was stated.
In August 2025, AGG and Fednav signed a memorandum of understanding to explore a sustainable, commercially supported year round shipping season. In January 2026, AGG, CentrePort Canada, the Winnipeg Airports Authority and the Province of Manitoba signed a memorandum of understanding on an air, land and sea Arctic trade corridor. In June 2026, AGG and Aecon signed a memorandum of understanding to explore infrastructure development at the port.
Sources: Canada.ca, PrairiesCan evaluation, 2018 acquisition; CBC News, Fednav MOU, August 2025; Aecon, MOU announcement, June 2026
| Date | Milestone |
| 1931 |
Port of Churchill opens |
| 2017 |
Flooding shuts down the rail line under OmniTrax |
| 31 August 2018 | Arctic Gateway Group acquires the port and railway |
| November 2018 | Rail service restored |
| March 2021 |
Fairfax and AGT transfer their shares to OneNorth; AGG becomes wholly Indigenous and community owned |
| March 2025 | Federal government announces C$175 million over five years |
| August 2025 | AGG and Fednav sign MOU on year round shipping |
| 11 September 2025 | Port of Churchill Plus referred to the Major Projects Office as a transformative strategy |
| 16 November 2025 |
Manitoba commits a further C$51 million, bringing the provincial total to C$87.5 million and the joint total to C$262.5 million |
| December 2025 |
Manitoba announces the Manitoba Crown Indigenous Corporation (MCIC) |
| January 2026 |
Multi party MOU signed on an air, land and sea Arctic trade corridor |
| February 2026 |
Federal government launches a market sounding study; Saskatchewan reported as a contributing province alongside Manitoba |
| March 2026 |
MCIC legislation planned for introduction |
| June 2026 |
AGG and Aecon sign an infrastructure MOU |
| July 2026 | Grain shipments resume for the first time since 2020 |
Sources: Major Projects Office; Transport Canada, March 2025; Prime Minister of Canada, joint statement, November 2025; CBC News, July 2026
As at November 2025, the confirmed joint federal and provincial commitment over five years totalled C$262.5 million, comprising C$175 million in federal funding and C$87.5 million from Manitoba.
| Component |
Amount |
| Federal (Transport Canada, March 2025) | C$175 million |
| Provincial, Manitoba (cumulative to November 2025) | C$87.5 million |
| Total five year commitment (as at November 2025) | C$262.5 million |
| Market sounding study (PrairiesCan, February 2026) | C$248,600 |
By February 2026, Saskatchewan had also joined as a contributing province. Saskatchewan and federal sources from that period describe the same C$262.5 million total, with the federal share reported at C$180 million and the combined provincial share at C$82.5 million. This may reflect a small increase in the federal contribution or a reallocation once Saskatchewan joined. The C$262.5 million total figure is confirmed consistently across all sources; the internal breakdown should be reconfirmed with the proponent or the relevant government departments before publication.
Government sources describe the wider Port of Churchill Plus expansion as involving multi billion dollar upgrades, without a published firm cost estimate. One secondary source cites a total expansion cost of over C$500 million. No proponent or government estimate for the full programme cost has been formally published.
Sources: Transport Canada, March 2025; Prime Minister of Canada, joint statement, November 2025; SARM, February 2026
Arctic Gateway Group is a wholly Indigenous and community owned business. It was originally formed in 2018 as a public private partnership held equally between Missinippi Rail LP and the combined private interests of Fairfax Financial Holdings and AGT Food and Ingredients. In March 2021, Fairfax and AGT transferred their shares to OneNorth, the renamed Missinippi Rail consortium, giving OneNorth full ownership of AGG.
AGG's ownership group today comprises 41 Indigenous and Bayside community partners, including 29 First Nations. AGG's operations are located on Treaty 5 and Treaty 1 territories, and its member communities reside throughout Treaty 1, Treaty 5, Treaty 6 and Treaty 10 territories, the original lands of the Cree, Dene, Ojibway and Oji Cree peoples, and the homeland of the Métis Nation and ancestral territory of the Inuit.
The wider Churchill Plus expansion is to be co ordinated through the Manitoba Crown Indigenous Corporation (MCIC), a new entity announced by the Province of Manitoba in December 2025, bringing together First Nations, Métis and provincial leadership, with legislation planned for introduction in March 2026. The Major Projects Office states that the transformative strategy would prioritise Indigenous equity ownership, through current Indigenous shareholders and the new MCIC.
Sources: Arctic Gateway Group, About Us; PrairiesCan, evaluation report; Major Projects Office; Province of Manitoba, MCIC announcement, December 2025
The Inuit Crown Partnership Committee (ICPC) is a standing federal Inuit forum established under the Inuit Nunangat Declaration of 2017, meeting three times a year. It met on 24 July 2025 in Inuvik, co chaired by the Prime Minister and the President of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, where the Building Canada Act, infrastructure needs in Inuit Nunangat, and Arctic sovereignty and security were discussed. A further meeting took place on 1 July 2026 in Kuujjuaq. The ICPC is a broad federal Inuit mechanism rather than a Churchill specific consultation forum.
The Province of Manitoba has stated that it will consult with First Nations, Inuit and Dene communities, researchers and local residents in developing the port. A town hall was held in Churchill in February 2026. Manitoba is working with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and the Manitoba Métis Federation through MCIC.
Sources: Prime Minister of Canada, ICPC meeting, July 2025; Crown Indigenous Relations Canada, ICPC background; The Narwhal, February 2026; Arctic Gateway Group, Port of Churchill
The Major Projects Office identifies four elements of the Port of Churchill Plus programme: upgrading the Hudson Bay Railway to Class 1 standards; dedicated marine ice breaking capacity to extend the shipping season; an all weather road connection to Churchill; and a new energy corridor.
The port offers the shortest shipping route from the Prairies to European markets compared with Atlantic ports, using the Hudson Strait route to the Atlantic Ocean. This is a separate route from the Northwest Passage, which runs further north through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Shipments from Churchill use the Hudson Strait route rather than Northwest Passage transit.
The shipping season is currently limited to around four months a year, from July to October, by sea ice in Hudson Bay. Research led by the University of Manitoba suggests the season could extend to around six months under current ice trends. Year round shipping would require dedicated ice breaking capacity, and the governments of Canada and Manitoba are jointly funding the Arctic Research Foundation to study the feasibility of specialised icebreakers, ice tugs and research vessels for this purpose.
Sources: Major Projects Office; PrairiesCan, February 2026; ResearchMoney, April 2025
Sources: CBC News, July 2026; Major Projects Office