CentrePort Canada | Winnipeg

[dennis]

I think that the transcanada system should be
upgraded. even though the majority of hwys converge in winnipeg, many trucking companies elect to take the interstate system west.

[Spocket]

So true. We really should have the entire length be limited access , divided , and four-laned from coast to coast. If the U.S. can build hundreds of them , I don't see why we can't manage one.

[dennis]

I think the proposal for an all weather road to churchill will also be a major boon to the centreport initiative. Truely the centre of a north-south-east-west corridor.

[Biff]

$212 million gets you one full interchange at the Pertimeter north of Saskatchewan, a flyover over the CPR mainline and a 4 lane divided hwy for the length of the road. The budget seems pretty accurate from what i have seen.

[vid]

There‘s only one centre port
Editorial | The Chronicle-Journal | April 15, 2009
http://www.chroniclejournal.com/stories.php?id=179245

Determination by the Manitoba government to turn Winnipeg into the central hub of Canadian transportation became reality Tuesday when the prime minister dropped in to confirm federal support. The fact that Winnipeg is not central to Canada and is without a direct sea route has not stopped the province from pushing ahead with the project called CentrePort, of all things.

If only the government of Ontario had been so visionary – and the feds along with them – Thunder Bay might well be on a much wider road to economic recovery. While medical research gets established and mining service inches ahead, there is still nothing to replace the thousands of jobs lost in the slumping forestry sector. This could have been a part of that.

The Lakehead has always had a strong transportation base due to its place in the country. A few other Canadian cities are situated on every major transportation route – road, rail, air and seaway – but none are nearly so close to being an equal distance from east and west coasts of Canada and indeed, central to North America. This natural advantage has been used to one degree or another but never to its full potential.

The geographic challenges of Northern Ontario have ironically presented Thunder Bay with its transportation advantage because road and rail routes had to be squeezed through a single pinchpoint in the vast Canadian Shield. Thus, both routes of the Trans-Canada Highway and both national railroads go right through the city. They are in turn sandwiched between the third busiest airport in Ontario on one side and the western Canadian terminus of the great St. Lawrence Seaway on the other.

Thunder Bay used to be the world‘s biggest grain port but deliberate national transport policy has used emerging markets to Vancouver‘s advantage and federal favouritism to pour immense resources into Manitoba‘s remote Hudson Bay port of Churchill to artificially diminish Thunder Bay‘s place in the grain trade.

The CentrePort project will further divert Canada‘s shipping attention to a full intermodal terminal near Winnipeg‘s airport. Plans call for an 8,000 hectare trucking and rail depot linked to the airport‘s runways and the world beyond.

They‘ll have to realign the Canadian Pacific Railway line to bring it closer to CentrePort whereas CP and CN Rail already run right past Thunder Bay International Airport.

Manitoba‘s plan also calls for upgrades to the 1,100 kilometres of Hudson Bay Rail Line up to the port of Churchill, a tiny grain terminal with a miniscule shipping season. The rail line is operated by an American company but Canada will pay to repair it.

CN and CP both operate within sight of Thunder Bay‘s still mighty grain elevators, one of which loaded an ocean vessel with grain this week to open the 2009 shipping season here two months before any commercial ship can hope to enter Churchill. Thunder Bay‘s southern location in Canada will see this shipping season continue through next January long after ice again grips Churchill.

Credit Manitoba Premier Gary Doer with convincing Ottawa to support his vision. Even with considerable disadvantages, CentrePort will proceed in Winnipeg while Thunder Bay can only wonder why it‘s not happening here instead.

[Only The Lonely..]

Thanks for posting that story Vid, it was interesting

[sledhead35]

indeed. considering the geography, how marshy our land is in manitoba, and the relatively short shipping season for churchill, these dont look like the most efficient logistics. too bad for our friends thunder bay.
while saying that however, im still glowing with excitment about our economic oppertunity.

[vid]

Our land is just as marshy. It simply has more giant rocks in it.

[harls]

The author of that article certainly has the bitter tone.

[rgalston]

That article sounds like it was written by Frank Sobotka.

[Andy6]

Originally Posted by harls

The author of that article certainly has the bitter tone.

I don't blame them for being bitter when their provincial government is a thousand miles away and has absolutely zero interest in promoting their city or region.

[harls]

Agreed.

[sledhead35]

ill second that. not sure what the situation is exactly, but its gotta be hard to compete with the GTA for provincial attention, especially as of late.

[vid]

It isn't just the north, but the north, especially the northwest, feels the negative effects the most. The GTA really takes a lot of the province's attention, and everything that isn't in the GTA suffers as a result. Windsor is, at the moment, much worse off than Thunder Bay or Sudbury. (There are smaller communities in the region that are worse, though.)

TVO had a discussion on Wednesday (the same day that editorial was published) about the north potentially separating. They basically came to the conclusion that it will probably never happen, and that demanding a regional government would be the best result. There are some municipal leaders in the region discussing it, others are opposed because it would mean more taxes to support another level of government. If it is going to be successful, it would need to have the ability to control hydro prices, resource management, large scale development strategies and so on. I think that ultimately a more decentralized model could work for the GTA as well, allowing the province to focus more on province wide projects instead of local mass transit in the GTA or whatever. (The GTA really needs a regional strategy. They have eight mass transit systems and about 20 governments serving what is functionally a single city, and many of them contradict each other in places.)

As for Centreport, a lot of people here had hopes of Thunder Bay becoming the big centre of trade, and Ken Boshcoff stated several times while he was mayor (and I think even MP) that he would prefer to see Churchill shut down, for the benefit of Thunder Bay. (The recent council has been more inwardly focused since our economy kinda died under the Hamilton/Boshcoff councils. The current council has actually developed strategies for the city to benefit from the oil sands and it is working, which is much better than an motion demanding an entire port disappears.)

[1ajs]

thunderbay could stand to benifit off the centerport still though glad to hear that they are using the mountan barier of bc as an advantage to get stuff to the oil sands

[vid]

Yeah, for all the bad things I say about CN, their investments to the line between here and Calgary is going to benefit us a fair bit.

I'm sure once the development gets into full swing, Thunder Bay will have a "Centreport Consortium" as well.

[1ajs]

tb and winnipeg could unite to feed off eachother

[The Jabroni]

Originally Posted by 1ajs

tb and winnipeg could unite to feed off eachother

In a way, we already are. Case in point, we're communicating with vid!

But yeah, I think Thunder Bay will, in some way, benefit from this too. It may not be as much as Winnipeg, but it could be a boost in some way.

Only time will tell.

[vid]

Originally Posted by 1ajs

tb and winnipeg could unite to feed off eachother

CANNIBAL CITIES!

Ontario and Manitoba should work together a lot more. It would really benefit this region, and thus benefit Ontario as we won't be "living off them" anymore.

[1ajs]

Originally Posted by vid

CANNIBAL CITIES!

Ontario and Manitoba should work together a lot more. It would really benefit this region, and thus benefit Ontario as we won't be "living off them" anymore.