Global trade is shifting. Supply chains are under pressure, markets are evolving, and countries are looking for more reliable and diversified ways to move goods. For Canada, that means making better use of the infrastructure we already have.
Manitoba has a unique advantage. At the center of North America, the province connects air, rail, road, and marine transportation in one place. CentrePort Canada serves as North America’s largest inland port. Winnipeg Richardson International Airport, operated by Winnipeg Airports Authority (WAA), is a key air cargo hub. Arctic Gateway Group (AGG) operates the Hudson Bay Railway and the Port of Churchill — Canada’s only deepwater Arctic port connected to the continental rail network.
What’s changing is how these assets are collaborating.
Through the Prairie Arctic Corridor for Trade (PACT), CentrePort, WAA, and AGG are aligning their efforts to create a more seamless logistics system. That coordination strengthens Canada’s ability to diversify trade routes, improve supply-chain resilience, and connect Prairie businesses to global markets.
PrairiesCan is proud to support PACT through pathfinding and matchmaking – bringing people together.
Prairie Arctic Corridor for Trade (PACT): Working Together to Connect Canada to the World (length: 1:34 minutes)
Transcript: Prairie Arctic Corridor for Trade (PACT): Working Together to Connect Canada to the World
[Music]
[Video starts with arial clips showing a tanker ship in Hudson Bay followed by an arial of a train running on tracks through woods]
Carly Edmundson, President & CEO, CentrePort Canada, PACT Chair: The Prairie Arctic Corridor for Trade (PACT)
[Video transitions to Carly Edmundson sitting on a chair in a warehouse, speaking to camera]
Carly: is actually a new trade gateway for Canada.
[Video show clips of warehouses at CentrePort Canada, Winnipeg Airport Terminal and a Hudson Bay Railway train car as Carly continues to speak]
Carly: It combines CentrePort Canada, with Winnipeg International Airport, and then it combines with Arctic Gateway Group.
[Video transitions to clips of MOU signing by PACT leadership as Carly continues to speak]
Carly: So together those three key transportation assets are going to allow
[Video transitions back to Carly speaking to camera]
Carly: for a very comprehensive trade solution for Canada.
[Video transitions through aerial shots of semi-trailers and warehouses at CentrePort Canada, to Nick Hays sitting on chair in the Winnipeg Richardson International Airport, speaking to the camera]
Nick Hays, President & Chief Executive Officer, Winnipeg Airports Authority, PACT Member: Our job is to provide 24-7 international
[While Nick continues to speak, video shows clips of the Winnipeg Richardson International Airport, PACT leadership engaging with Federal Minister Rebecca Chartrand at the MOU signing, and different aspets of PACT, including planes taking off, boxes on sorting conveyor belts, semi-truck driving down the highway, aerial of a train going through downtown Winnipeg, products being loaded onto trains and ships]
Nick: connectivity as part of an integrated multimodal system. But ultimately what PACT is about, it’s not about any one individual asset, but it’s about how the system works together in order to generate better resilience and better competitiveness for the Prairies and for Canada.
[Video transitions to Chris Avery sitting on a chair in Winnipeg’s Union Station, speaking to the camera]
Chris Avery, Chief Executive Officer, Arctic Gateway Group, PACT Member: You know our traditional supply chains and our traditional trade is changing and we see
[Video transitions to aerial clip of tanker ship outside the Port of Churchill, followed by a clip of Chris walking through Union Station and clips of both the train station, and tracks, in Churchill and the Port of Churchill]
Chris: the status quo is no longer an option. We need to work together to think about new ways to grow our
[Video transitions back to Chris speaking to camera]
Chris: trade and to diversify our trade and that’s exactly what we’re doing together.
[Video shows clips of trains going through prairie fields as Carly resumes speaking]
Carly: You know, we understand that companies
[Video shows clips of the Port of Churchill and Winnipeg]
Carly: they need an integrated solution.
[Video transitions to Carly walking through a warehouse at CentrePort, followed by exterior and interier warehouse shots and clips of the different modes of transportation]
Carly: And so we work really closely at CentrePort with our partners at Arctic Gateway Group at Winnipeg Airports Authority and also with our government partners
[Video transitions to clips from MOU signing and announcement event]
Carly: such as Province of Manitoba and PrairiesCan
[Video shows clips of zodiac on water, polar bears, Canada flag and a globe graphic that pans from ground level to view from space showing how PACT helps to connect Canada to the world]
Carly: to create a solution that really helps Canada connect with the world through trade.
Text on screen: “With the support of: Prairies Economic Development Canada”, with Canada wordmark.
[Canada federal signature shown on screen]
[Music ends]