Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 24, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba B5 FRIDAY JANUARY 24, 2025 ● BUSINESS@FREEPRESS.MB.CA ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM BUSINESS PrairiesCan report offers Churchill port, rail line encouragement W HEN Ottawa invested $117 mil- lion in the creation of Arctic Gateway Group, allowing it to purchase the Hudson Bay Railway and the Port of Churchill in 2018, it was not at all clear how well the enterprise would fair. Since then, between the federal and Manitoba governments, an additional $160 million has been invested. What we can say is the trains are running — both passenger and freight — and the port remains open and has experienced a modest amount of activity. So much has been said and writ- ten about why it’s important to keep that critical infrastructure going and there’s been plenty of speculation about the potential for the northern Manitoba port and rail line in the future. As if to lay an even firmer foundation for that future, Prairies Economic De- velopment Canada has taken the some- what unusual action of commissioning an evaluation of its initial $117 million investment, which came at a time when then-owner Omnitrax was unprepared to invest in maintaining the infrastruc- ture and the rail line had suffered terri- ble weather damage, shutting down service for more than a year. Although it may not be the kind of high-grade analysis investment bankers might prefer, the 26-page “Evaluation of the Restoring the Rail Service to Churchill Initiative (RRCI)” is effectively a piece of documented encouragement that will allow Arctic Gateway to continue progress on its work. Terry Duguid, the Winnipeg MP recently named minister responsible for PrairiesCan, has been active on the Churchill file since 1996 (when he worked with then-regional cabinet minister Lloyd Axworthy). At that time, Canada was prepared to decom- mission the port and CN was prepared to abandon the rail line. “We saved the rail line and the port the first time and since 2018, we now have a very, very strong partnership with the provincial government who are stepping up and who we are working hard for the benefit of northerners and the rest of the province,” Duguid said. The PrairiesCan report concludes: “The RRCI responded to a crucial need of communities and First Nations in northern Manitoba. During the period of the rail line’s washout, the economic impacts were significant. If the rail service had not been restored, the negative effects would have been likely to compound and exacerbate, entailing ongoing high costs for residents, as well as provincial and federal govern- ments. There would have been a loss of future opportunities for economic de- velopment, such as a possible shipping ‘corridor.’” The report does, however, flag a number of operational issues, includ- ing: the trains are not wheelchair ac- cessible, the need for a better ticketing system, passenger experience and communication about the enterprise to the communities along the Hudson Bay line (who are now the owners of the business). Chris Avery, who was named CEO of Arctic Gateway in July, said the report is encouraging. “I think it’s very reflective of the success of the partnership between us and Prairies- Can and the governments … in terms of governance and the organization around everything that has evolved since the days of Omnitrax.” Avery said, as a business, Arctic Gateway has to keep its customers happy, whether it be the stakeholder community or business community. “We are always trying to continue to improve on that,” he said. (The passenger experience is Via Rail’s responsibility and Avery be- lieves AGG’s relationship with Via is a good one.) The report only deals with the initial $117 million influx and it reports infra- structure repair has gone well. “We have the railway almost up to where we want it to be. We still have work to do, but it is in better conditions than it has ever been across all parts of the railway,” Avery said. “Now we are turning our attention to the port, which has equally been neglected over the decades.” It may not be Avery’s job to worry about Canada exercising its sovereign- ty in the North, but Duguid is right to make the point regarding Ottawa’s investment in this community-owned business. “I think in this age where we have some challenges with the incoming administration in the U.S. … This is go- ing to become an even more cherished asset, helping us to diversify our ex- ports,” Duguid said. “I think Churchill is going to play an increasing role in Arctic sovereignty. “We need more infrastructure fur- ther north, of course. Defence of the Arctic is going to be very, very import- ant and Churchill is going to provide a very important role.” Meantime, the report states: “At this time, it is too early to determine if or to what extent the commercial viabil- ity of the (rail) line and port terminal assets has been enhanced.” That’s something that’s very much on Avery’s mind — and what he and his team are working hard at advancing. Last year’s shipment of zinc concen- trate from HudBay Mineral’s mine in Snow Lake was symbolic of that. “We’re working hard at building up the revenue stream to match the expenses,” he said. Ultimately, the success will be deter- mined by AGG’s success in beating the bushes to attract cargo. martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca MARTIN CASH Work continues on provincial major events strategy seeking future growth of ‘multibillion-dollar sector’ Stocking event shelves for Manitoba tourism C OMING soon to a place near you: more events, maybe. A panel of Manitoba tourism leads called on local businesses to in- vest in future events by hosting, spon- soring and volunteering. Meanwhile, Manitoba’s tourism industry is work- ing with government on a major events strategy and increased funding to bid on big attractions. “You’re talking about a multibil- lion-dollar sector for Manitoba,” Loren Remillard, president of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, said Thursday. “We’re always looking for which sec- tor presents the best growth trajectory. This is one where the return on invest- ment and its growth trajectory is prov- en and is encouraging for the future.” Remillard’s remarks followed a chamber luncheon about the future of tourism. Panelists from Travel Mani- toba, Economic Development Win- nipeg, City of Winnipeg and Tribal Councils Investment Group highlighted upcoming events — and made their pitch to get involved — to a ballroom full of business personnel. Travel Manitoba clocked a record $1.82 billion in tourist spending in 2023. International visitors can spend almost $1,000 to $2,000 more per capita than local tourists, the Crown corporation shared in December. So far, event rosters for 2025 and 2026 look good, said Natalie Thiesen, Econom- ic Development Winnipeg vice-president of tourism. There’s now a need to focus on 2027 and beyond, she added. Big events are often solidified years in advance. The COVID-19 pandemic halted event sourcing; catch-up for 2027 and later years is ongoing, Thiesen said after Thursday’s panel. “Post-COVID — really in the last year — is when we’ve really doubled down (on events),” Thiesen stated. Economic Development Winnipeg has been working with Travel Mani- toba and the provincial government on a major events strategy over the past year. A publication date hasn’t been finalized, Thiesen said. Manitoba is among the last provinces to build such a strategy, she added. The document aligns with Manitoba’s tour- ism plan, revised in 2023, which called for a province-wide events strategy and an “agile funding mechanism” to sup- port major bids. “Beyond the (2025) Grey Cup (at Princess Auto Stadium), we don’t have another major event on the books,” Thiesen said. “We know how important those events are to Manitobans from an economic impact, from a social legacy impact.” Winnipeg will play host to the CFL title game in November. The Can- adian Elite Basketball League, which includes the Winnipeg Sea Bears, will run its Championship Weekend at the Canada Life Centre in August. Such events cost money, including bidding fees. Manitoba has less money earmarked for event attraction than its provincial counterparts, Thursday’s panelists noted. Tourism organizations are talking with the province about expanding funding, Thiesen said. The City of Winnipeg has a mechanism for event attraction Economic Development Win- nipeg manages, she added. Thiesen labelled the call for business participation “strategic positioning.” “It’s a very competitive landscape,” she said, adding people with pull in their respective industry — and put in good word about Manitoba for a confer- ence — “go a long way.” Perception of Manitoba can be an added hurdle to event attraction, Thiesen noted. The number of conferences and events in Winnipeg hasn’t yet reached pre-pandemic heights. That’s projected to come next year, Thiesen said. Still, hotel bookings have surpassed 2019 oc- cupancy rates. Increased uncertainty globally has meant more risk in the event business, Thiesen said. “The feeling is we’re going to see more Canadians staying a little bit closer to home,” said Remillard. “Not just (because of the U.S. political land- scape), but also economically.” A weaker dollar in Canada may draw some United States organizations north for events, Thiesen shared. Economic Development Winnipeg has placed bids for events as far away as 2032. Rendez-vous Canada, Manito Ah- bee Festival and the Family Medicine Forum are among the events slated to draw thousands of people to Manitoba in 2025. The World Indigenous Business Forum is set to run in Winnipeg next year. The event will impact all of Mani- toba, said Dennis Meeches, president of the Tribal Councils Investment Group. He predicts Indigenous tourism — and the events to come along with it — will increase in the coming years. gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com GABRIELLE PICHÉ Vale to seek sale of Thompson nickel mining operation BRAZIL-based Vale S.A. has an- nounced it is looking to sell its nickel mining operation in Thompson. A company news release Thursday said it has launched “a strategic re- view to explore and evaluate a range of alternatives, including the poten- tial sale” of its mining and exploration assets near the northern Manitoba city. Vale acquired Inco in 2006, which has been mining nickel continuously in the Thompson area since 1956. The company said the review is “part of a process to optimize Vale Base Metals’ asset base, ensuring the competitiveness of its vertically inte- grated nickel portfolio.” The review is expected to conclude in the second half of 2025. It was not clear if that means some kind of deal is being sought within that time frame. The Thompson operation has under- gone all sorts of changes over the years, with its workforce pared back to likely less than 1,000 today from more than a couple thousand 30 years ago. In 2017, it shut down its smelter and refinery in Thompson, eliminating about 300 jobs. It has been shipping ore for processing to its operation in Sudbury, Ont., since then. In 2021, it announced a $150 million investment that was to extend mining activity for another 10 years. The Thompson Nickel Belt has prov- en to be a rich formation. The company said it produced 10,500 metric tonnes of finished nickel for the 12-month per- iod ending in the third quarter of 2024. The assets now under review include two underground mines, an adjacent mill and significant exploration oppor- tunities on the 135-kilometre-long Thompson Nickel Belt. martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca MARTIN CASH RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS Natalie Thiesen, vice-president, tourism, with Economic Development Winnipeg, speaks Thursday at RBC Convention Centre during a Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce panel discussion on the future of local tourism. Also featured were Dennis Meeches of Tribal Councils Investment Group, Angela Cassie of Travel Manitoba and Kenny Boyce of the City of Winnipeg. Chamber diversity programming expands THE Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce is expanding its diversity and equity programming into Ontario. Fellow chambers in Hamilton and Timmins plan to launch the Commitment to Opportunity, Diversity and Equity (CODE) next week. The Winnipeg chamber began CODE in 2021. Ontarians will have access to online workshops and resources, like CODE’s truth and reconcilia- tion road map. “CODE (is) about helping our members make their workplaces more … inclusive and wel- coming so they can attract, develop and retain the highest quality staff,” said Loren Remillard, Winnipeg chamber president. “If we can help other communities do that … it helps us all.” CODE garnered attention from peer chambers after the program won a Canadian Chamber of Commerce award two years ago. Colleagues asked about CODE; it resulted in the Ontario rollout, Remillard said. “There’s more conversations we’re having,” he continued. “This is just the start.” The eastern chambers aren’t paying for programming. The Winnipeg chamber may see if there’s interest in additional services later on, Remillard said. — Gabrielle Piché ;