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Manitoba premier floats idea of 2nd Hudson Bay port to increase trade with Europe

Premier Wab Kinew on Tuesday raised the idea of creating a second port on Hudson Bay as Manitoba hosted a delegation of European Union diplomats looking to forge stronger links with the province. European Union Ambassador Geneviève Tuts and 18 heads of mission of European member states met with Kinew at the legislative building. "We're looking for closer relationships … given what's happening with the U.S. right now," Kinew told reporters after a closed-door meeting with the delegation, which arrived Monday for a two-day visit. The gathering was a chance to show the countries, which represent a market of 450 million people, that Manitoba is open for business, he said. With the trade threats made by U.S. President Donald Trump, there is a need to look at options for exports, which could include another port away from Churchill, Kinew said. This is the first time Kinew has indicated any openness to the idea of a second port, which has been raised before. The prior Progressive Conservative government in Manitoba put forward a funding commitment to study it, but Kinew's government cancelled that. On Tuesday, he said the idea would not even be on the table if Trump didn't upend world trade. Kinew on Monday said he ordered Manitoba Hydro not to renew 500 megawatts worth of expiring contracts to export hydroelectricity to the United States. On Tuesday, he said he wants to redirect some of that power to northern Manitoba to strengthen the port and make it into a "really strong and very viable trade corridor." "I think that we can really turn this period of turbulence into a period of opportunity," he said. Tuts said before the meeting that the delegation will focus on many topics, but she specifically highlighted biotech, clean energy and raw materials "for the digital transition," referring to critical minerals. She also underscored the importance of making full use of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) signed in 2016. "I think that Manitoba has all of the ingredients to deepen even more the friendship and the partnership. Europe has some needs, Manitoba as well. That's maybe the reason why we have decided to visit your beautiful province," Tuts said. Kinew said the meeting also covered cultural diplomacy — bringing an EU film festival to Manitoba and sending artistic exhibits and performances overseas. The EU heads of mission will also meet with the Business Council of Manitoba and the Indigenous Chamber of Commerce, and tour the Canadian North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) headquarters and CentrePort Canada, a key hub for international trade, a news release from the province said. The delegation is made up of the ambassadors and high commissioners of Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.