Letter from the Editor

By Mark Szakonyi

Attacks by Trump have put a spotlight on years of weakened productivity in Canada.

The new government of Prime Minster Mark Carney has created rare sentiment among Canadian shipping stakeholders about action out of Ottawa: overflowing optimism.

Carney, an economist who headed both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, brings a hard-charging approach focused on galvanizing the country’ s sagging productivity. He rode into office in March thanks to an electorate united in anger and frustration over President Donald Trump’ s tariffs and insults over Canada’ s sovereignty. The changed relationship with the US has also galvanized efforts to lessen Canada’ s trade dependence on its neighbor.

Carney’ s pledge to streamline the bureaucracy that has made Canada an infrastructure laggard is good news for ports and railroads that have seen regulatory approval timelines stretch past a decade. The former Goldman Sachs executive is the best chance the shipping industry has seen in ages to reduce the power of organized transportation labor to cripple national supply chains when contract negotiations break down, according to one source tied to port labor policy.

More competitive tax policies— along with faster regulatory approvals and more guardrails on labor-employer negotiations— will make Canada more attractive to investment, Eric Harvey, president and CEO of the Railway Association of Canada, told the Journal of Commerce.

“ We are at a rare moment of opportunity. Government and industry alike seem willing to have a serious conversation about what it takes to keep supply chains moving and competitive,” he said. Carney’ s Liberal Party on June 20 passed legislation allowing the federal government to fast-track projects of national importance, such as the C $ 3 billion mega-terminal the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority has sought to build for 20 years, as well as the Montreal Port Authority’ s( MPA) C $ 1.57 million Contrecoeur terminal project. Both projects will need more federal investment to lure marine terminal operators.

Vancouver, which needs roughly C $ 1 billion from the government, according to two people familiar with the project, has yet to request proposals for an operator of the Roberts Bank Terminal 2, but in July, it began the search for a construction firm to plan and build the 2.4 million-TEU facility.

The MPA also plans to announce the concessionaire for the builder and operator of its planned terminal later this year. The Contrecoeur facility would be located about 43 miles upriver from the city along the St. Lawrence and have an annual capacity of 1.15 million TEUs.

The MPA failed to attract a partner in its first attempt two years ago. Since then, the Quebec provincial government and Canada’ s infrastructure bank have kicked in C $ 130 million and C $ 300 million, respectively, potentially making the Contrecoeur project more attractive. In announcing the grant award in February, Quebec Premier François Legault stressed the need to“ reduce our dependence on the US.”

Given his corporate background, Carney will likely turn to large Canadian investors for funding, according to one veteran railroad executive. While Carney hasn’ t publicly addressed organized transportation labor, port stakeholders see a new government ready to listen, a stark contrast to the previous regime. The release of a report by the Labor Ministry in May offers some recommendations on how British Columbia ports can avoid labor unrest that has shaken their image as unexcitingly dependable.

The report, undertaken after two years of labor disruptions at the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert, strongly recommends unions bargain with employers on a province-wide basis, rather than a port- or employer-specific basis, criticising the current model as“ far from healthy” and“ marred by ongoing conflicts, misaligned priorities and a fiercely protectionist stance by the union.”

The authors also argue for the creation of a“ special mediator” to monitor contract negotiations. Because the current model doesn’ t include a formal process for dispute intervention, unions can challenge back-to-work orders by saying there are other, less drastic steps that could keep talks on track, according to the report.

The last strike involving major railroads Canadian National and Canadian Pacific lasted just 17 hours in August 2024 but disrupted cargo transport nonetheless, as both railroads began embargoing cargo a week prior.

The report noted that the need for Canada’ s ports to become more competitive has“ only been amplified” by Trump’ s then-tariff threats. Those tariffs, along an executive order closing a loophole in the Harbor Maintenance Tax, have already made it slightly less attractive for shippers to move US imports through Canadian ports.

The attacks by Trump have put a spotlight on years of weakened productivity in Canada, giving Carney arguably the strongest mandate in years to shake up how the country builds port infrastructure and responds to breakdowns in labor negotiations.

email: mark. szakonyi @ spglobal. com

4 Journal of Commerce | August 4, 2025 www. joc. com