Shortly before Canada’s federal parliament was to resume its business sessions in mid-September after the summer recess, Prime Minister Mark Carney was strongly hinting that an “austerity” budget would soon be introduced. But it appeared unlikely that the chopping block would apply to investing in certain major port projects, particularly upgrades to the ports of Montreal and Churchill, Manitoba that he championed while on an August trip to Germany.
In response to President Trump’s tariff warfare, the Carney government is clearly seeking to bolster Canadian economic and energy ties in Europe and diversify Canada’s international trade landscape. He talked of unleashing “half a trillion dollars of investment” within weeks to strengthen port and energy infrastructures that would also target LNG exports.
Port of Montreal
At Canada’s second leading container port, latest developments confirm that the biggest project in its history is moving concretely towards achievement - notably in the wake of delays in finding a private partner and investor with sufficient deep pockets (and determination) to operate and finance a container terminal at Contrecoeur, which is about 25 miles downstream from Montreal on the St. Lawrence River. As this issue of AJOT was in production, such a partner was announced on September 8 – global Logistics giant DP World.
The Montreal Port Authority (MPA) and DP World in Canada have entered into a Joint Development Agreement for the design of the land-based works of the future container terminal scheduled for completion in 2030.
Selected for its international expertise in operational excellence, technological innovation, and sustainable development, DP World will make the future Contrecœur terminal its sixth port facility in Canada, joining Fraser Surrey, Nanaimo, Prince Rupert, Saint John, and Vancouver. Globally, DP World operates in more than 60 ports and terminals across 64 countries.
“The agreement with DP World here in Canada marks a decisive step in realizing the Port of Montreal expansion project in Contrecœur,” said Julie Gascon, President and CEO, Montreal Port Authority .“By leveraging innovation, sustainability, and the expertise of a world-class partner, we are strengthening the Port of Montreal’s strategic role as an economic engine for Quebec and Canada.”
Doug Smith, CEO of DP World in Canada, said: “We’re honoured to deliver this transformational project, which will elevate the Port of Montreal’s role in global trade and diversify Canadian trade.”
Significantly enough, DP World has a strong connection with Quebec’s huge pension group — the Caisse de Dépot et Placement du Québec – whose assets approach C$500 billion. The relationship between La Caisse and DP World involves very big investment partnerships, including a 2022 agreement where CDPQ invested US$5 billion for a minority stake in DP World’s Dubai assets, and a 2016 agreement to create a US$3.7 billion global investment platform focused on ports and terminals. These collaborations are designed to expand DP World’s global presence and provide CDPQ with exposure to fast-growing markets and trade routes. If all proceeds under a revised plan, the Contrecoeur terminal in which CN Railway has teamed up with the MPA to integrate the facility to its North American network, will add 1.15 million containers per year by slated start of operations in 2030 to an existing capacity of 2.1 million TEUs. Due to the delays, inflation and other factors, the total estimated cost has ballooned north of $1.5 billion.
Up till now, overall committed government funding sits under C$600 million. The federal government has pledged $150 million under the National Trade Corridors Fund (NTCF). The Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) has offered up to $300 million in long-term loans. And the Quebec provincial government has pledged a total of $130 million. The total financing involvement of the Montreal Port Authority remains to be determined, but a substantial amount is evidently in the cards. The overall financing package involving DP World and potentially more federal government participation also remains to be detailed.
Several weeks ago, the MPA submitted its notice of intent to begin preliminary construction work for the Contrecœur expansion as early as September 29, 2025, pending receipt of the final required approvals.
“This step allows us to meet the conditions required to move forward with a project that positions Quebec and Canada more strongly to diversify international trade,” said Julie Gascon, President and CEO of the MPA. “Once all the necessary approvals are in place, we’ll be ready to begin work on this major strategic project that is essential to the future of our supply chains.”
Meanwhile, last year saw the Port of Montreal stay the course in a complex environment, handling 1.5 million TEUs and 35.4 million metric tons of total cargo, a slight increase of 0.2% over the previous year.
“This stability, in an environment marked by labour disputes and geopolitical tensions, demonstrates the resilience of the port’s supply chain and the strength of its diversification,” asserts Paul Bird, Chief Commercial Officer. “And with 2025 already well underway, several trends were confirming the need for the Port of Montreal to develop new capacities in the container sector.”
The trade balance in 2024 tilted slightly toward imports, which accounted for 54% of volumes, compared to 46% for exports. “Despite this, we remain the most balanced container port in North America, with one of the highest economic impacts per tonne handled on the continent,” Bird said.
Internationally, Bird noted, Northern Europe has confirmed itself as the port’s leading partner, accounting for 36% of total volume (+4% vs. 2023). Asia continues to be a key partner, accounting for more than 25% of traffic, while the Mediterranean has declined by 6%, accounting for 22%. The Middle East (8%), Latin America (5%) and Africa (4%) complete the global picture, which remains, despite everything, highlighted by India - the leading single partner country.
Thus far in 2025, a positive trend was in progress – with container volumes up nearly 7% in the first seven months.
Port of Halifax
For the deepwater Port of Halifax, final cargo performance in 2024 showed a steady pattern amid a challenging global political environment. Total port-wide volume amounted to 9.6 million tonnes versus 9.8 million metric tons in 2023.
On the container front, the PSA Halifax Atlantic Hub terminal and Fairview Cove Terminal handled 509,000 TEUs compared to 546,000 TEUs in 2023. Top exports included consumer products, wood pulp and paper, and forest products. Leading imports were clothing, machinery and steel products. Non-containerized cargo such as agriproducts and offshore wind components represent a growing business sector.
Connecting to more than 150 countries, the port’s leading trading lanes are Asia (41%), Europe (34%) and Latin America and the Caribbean (14%).
“Halifax is a key international trade gateway to inland markets in Quebec, Ontario and US Midwest. We are a customer-centric, trusted partner,” recently commented Fulvio Fracassi, who last fall succeeded Capt. Alan Gray as President and CEO of the Halifax Port Authority/
“In 2024, we had 42 vessels larger than 10,000 TEU make 117 calls, showing Halifax’s strength as a deepwater port able to berth the largest container vessels on the Eastern Seaboard,” he noted, adding: “The global geopolitical situation continued to have an impact on Halifax’s containerized cargo, reflected in reduced volumes during Q1-Q3. In Q4, diverted cargo from other ports and the general shipping peak season resulted in stronger volumes. Overall, containerized cargo was down 6.8% from 2023.”
Looking ahead to 2025, Fracassi said “the Port of Halifax will be focused on continuing efforts to support our partners to ensure we are a competitive, innovative, fluid and reliable component of the national supply chain. Projects such as the Integrated Rail Solution, the development of a Data Integration Hub and others will assist these efforts.”
In the HPA’s annual report, Fracassi and Chair David Cameron underlined a focus on “supporting containerized cargo development and exploring opportunities for breakbulk” and on “the sustainable development of our cruise business.”
Port Saint John
At the Port of Saint John, 2024 was highlighted by a solid increase in cargo volume while 2025 has already featured the ground-breaking of a major investment – that of Americold Realty Trust in its first import-export hub to be built in Canada.
Total cargo at the Bay of Fundy port increased to 29.6 million tons in 2024 from 27.9 million tons in 2023, with liquid bulk accounting for 27 million tons and dry bulk for 1.3 million tons. Containerized cargo continued its brisk growth – totalling 184,879 TEUs versus 153,000 TEUs in 2023.
Craig Bell Estabrook, President and CEO, and Board Chair Jack Keir, have underlined the importance of shifting the port’s focus “to diversify the commodities coming in and out of our harbour.”
Referring to the completion of the West Side Modernization project, they stated: “In the face of a global pandemic, we chose to forge ahead with a transformational infrastructure project aimed at growing our container sector.”
The new cold storage facility, to become the sixth operated by Americold in Canada, is conceived to leverage the maritime logistics capabilities of DP World and the rail logistics solutions of Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC).
“Developing this facility at Port Saint John marks an important step forward for Americold,” said Rob Chambers, President, Americas at Americold. “The infrastructure investments by DP World and CPKC alongside Port Saint John have attracted major global shipping lines to this location, and we are excited that our world-class cold storage facility and value-added services will support food flows between Central and Eastern Canada, Europe, South America and APAC.”
