February 2, 2026 | Page 36

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

CANADA TRADE AND LOGISTICS

For Canada, this situation is a call to diversify markets, Gascon noted. It also requires immense flexibility to respond to this new demand, open new markets and seize emerging opportunities.

“ Companies are increasingly looking beyond the US, using the St. Lawrence corridor to reach Europe, North Africa, Southeast Asia and even South America,” she said.“ Thanks to our high performance [ and ] resilient supply chain, we can quickly adapt to rising demand and meet the needs of exporters.”

The Port of Montreal is also working to expand its capacity and strengthen its role as a commercial hub through an expansion project in Contrecœur, which Gascon described as a concrete solution to meet these challenges and position the port for future growth.

Xotta is seeing similar dynamics at the Port of Vancouver. As Canada’ s largest and most diversified port, the Port of Vancouver connects the country with more than 170 global economies and moves as much cargo as

Canada’ s second- through fifth-largest ports combined.

Historically, a large majority of Canadian-produced goods were moved into the United States, benefitting from preferred access. This has served Canada well; however, continued uncertainty beyond tariffs has magnified the need for greater access to international markets to mitigate future disruptions.

“ You are seeing our federal government take a real, holistic view of how we respond to the current

“ In a context of continued global volatility, ensuring reliable access to multiple international markets becomes a strategic priority.”

circumstance and maybe set ourselves up for future success going forward,” Xotta said.

From a logistics perspective, Staroba said customers aren’ t waiting around for perfect conditions but instead positioning their businesses to grow and operate reliably in any environment.

“ Our focus is on supporting those customers with excellent service today, while continuing to invest in the capacity they’ ll need over the long term,” he said.“ Whether markets are soft or strong, customers want a transportation partner they can trust as an extension of their team.”

Gascon further reinforced the need for flexible, efficient supply chains.

“ In a context of continued global volatility, ensuring reliable access to multiple international markets becomes a strategic priority,” she said.“ The sustained growth of trade flows toward Asia, Europe and Latin America highlights the increasing role of logistics gateways such as the Port of Montreal, which acts as an enabler for trade diversification by connecting Canadian businesses to global supply chains and supporting long-term economic resilience.”

Strategic investment fuels global trade presence

One of Canda’ s most important assets is its ports system, which functions as a world-class logistics hub. The Port of Vancouver is responsible for 50 % of all containers that come in and out of Canada by ocean, with an estimated 3.8 million TEUs handled in 2025.

“ The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority has taken a pretty proactive role over the last decade— maybe 15 years— to identify bottlenecks or opportunities for improvement in the supply chain, particularly within the region of the port precinct,” Xotta said, adding that

The cornerstone of a fully integrated rail, road and pipeline network, the Port of Montreal is the only destination port on the North American loop. It is an essential link in the supply chain of major Canadian consumer markets, the US Midwest and Northeast, served by both Canadian Class I railways, CN and CPKC.

Recognized for being the primary North American gateway for trade between the Mediterranean and North Europe, Asia and the Middle East have also proven to be the Port of Montreal’ s growth engine in the past decade for both imports and exports, representing 32 % of the port’ s international container volumes in 2024.

To support rising demand and strengthen long-term competitiveness, the Port of Montreal is moving forward with several major initiatives. The Montreal Port Authority and DP World Canada have entered into a Joint Development Agreement for the design of the land-based works of the future Contrecœur container terminal.

This new terminal will increase the port’ s overall capacity by more than 50 %, adding 1.15 million TEUs to the current 2.1 million TEUs, for a total handling capacity of 3.25 million TEUs in the coming years. The port is also investing in initiatives to accommodate bigger vessels and further enhance its resilience, operational efficiency and supply chain fluidity. n

36 Journal of Commerce | February 2, 2026 www. joc. com