Canada Ports & Corridors

Special Report

Canada readies ambitious supply chain reform legislation

Increased borrowing limits

Through the supply chain legislation, port employer interests also want to enshrine into law that the ILWU can only negotiate with employers as a group, rather than individually. The West Coast isn’ t recognized in Canada’ s labor code as a common geography similar to the East Coast with the ports of Halifax, Montreal and Saint John.

By Mark Szakonyi

A series of federal consultations in Canada have laid the groundwork for new legislation seeking to reduce labor disruption at seaports and other transport modes.

The legislation is part of a larger effort by Prime Minister Mark Carney to double non-US exports within the decade and boost supply chain resilience by investing in ports and curbing freight disruptions.

Although the legislation cannot be introduced officially until Canada’ s Parliament returns from its summer recess at the end of September, the consultations on transportation labor, ports and digitalization lasted mere weeks, reflecting the swiftness with which the federal government intends to operate, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

“ They’ re moving at the speed of Carney,” one of the sources said, referring to the prime minister’ s aggressive approach to reform and investment. The source added that the government’ s first meaningful attempt to reform Canada’ s labor code in three decades was“ unprecedented.”

Still, Canadian labor groups are warning against designating port workers as essential employees, thus crippling their ability to strike and employers’ ability to lock them out.

“ Unifor has and will engage in good faith in this flawed process, but we can hear the dog whistles of union-busting weaved throughout the government’ s questions and reference documents,” Lana Payne, the union’ s national president, said in a statement.

But one source tied to federal labor relations said the legislation is unlikely to strip the right to strike from organized workers and instead to create a special mediator to guide contract negotiations through bumps and impasses.

The mediator role was one of the recommendations to come out of a federal study on Canadian West Coast ports. Such an individual would get involved in negotiations from the beginning and provide recommendations publicly when negotiations grind down, according to the labor relations source. How much power this mediator would have to force arbitration, however, isn’ t yet clear.

The federal study of West Coast ports labor was triggered by a 13-day work stoppage in 2023 at the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert, which was followed in late 2024 with a 10-day strike and then lockout. The disruptions were two of 16 that have impacted the transportation sector since 2019, according to Canada’ s Ministry of Transportation.

The current International Longshore and Warehouse Union( ILWU) contract in British Columbia expires in March 2027, with formal negotiations expected to begin in November, according to the labor relations source.

Canada’ s Parliament will likely consider the legislation when it returns from its summer recess. Shutterstock. com

30 Journal of Commerce | August 3, 2026 www. joc. com