Transport Canada, through its National Trade Corridors Fund (NTCF), has contributed $150 million to help develop the Port of Montreal’s Contrecoeur container terminal.

The feds say the investment will help accommodate anticipated growth in container volumes through the port.

“This financial backing from the federal government sends a strong message about our large Contrecœur expansion project and the future of the logistics ecosystem in the St. Lawrence corridor,” said Geneviève Deschamps, interim president and CEO of the Montreal Port Authority. “It lets us embark on the next steps with confidence, so that we can continue to play our vital role as a sustainable economic driver at the heart of the Quebec and Canadian economies.”

The funding will enable a major expansion on Montreal’s south shore. Work will be done there using a hybrid model: Marine work will be carried out by the Montreal Port Authority, and land site works will be completed by a private partner. A new procurement process is being put in place to determine which private partners will build the land portion of the expansion.

Highlights of the expansion include: a 675-meter long dock; a rail network connecting to the existing CN tracks including a freight transfer hub; road access to connect the terminal to public roads; a container handling yard; and operations and administrative buildings.

“The Port of Montreal is an economic driver for the province of Quebec and Montreal, and a key element of our national supply chain,” said Minister of Transport Pablo Rodriguez. “By supporting the port in its expansion project in Contrecœur, we continue our efforts to strengthen Canada’s supply chain. This is important so that we never again have to go through product shortages like we experienced during the pandemic, or the significant price increases that came along with them.”

Trucking reaction

Marc Cadieux, president and CEO of the Quebec Trucking Association (ACQ) , was present at the announcement of federal funding for the project.

In an interview with sister publication Transport Routier , he said he confided to Minister Rodriguez that the Contrecœur terminal would reduce the volume of truck traffic in Montreal and would bring grist to the mill of Montérégie transporters, who will no longer need go to the mainland to take care of certain cargo.

Asked what the new terminal will mean for the trucking industry, Cadieux believes that “It certainly bodes well because it will optimize the supply chain and transportation logistics. This will make the Port of Montreal a port of even greater interest.”

He also notes that truckers’ waiting times should be reduced thanks to this increased capacity, which will contrast with the congestion situation experienced during the pandemic when Montreal lacked docks to accommodate the ships that showed up, many having to wait so the first arrivals could be unloaded.

“Everything that saves logistics and time is the crux of the matter for the operability of our carriers,” said Cadieux.

“It will bring an additional market to the industry,” he said about the increased volumes of goods shipped and brought back by truck from the various terminals of the Port of Montreal.

“It’s oxygen for our carriers, it’s more fluidity, it’s improving the capacity for our carriers to access port infrastructure,” he added.

• This story was updated with reaction from the ACQ