Feds eye Grays Bay as project of ‘national interest’

The proposed Grays Bay road and deepsea port in western Nunavut could be among the first to be classified as a project of national interest, says federal Transportation Minister Steven MacKinnon.

MacKinnon was in Yellowknife Wednesday to announce Grays Bay, alongside the proposed Mackenzie Valley Highway in N.W.T. and the Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s Deep Geological Repository in northern Ontario, as projects being eyed for this designation.

“Grays Bay is an essential and very central project to, not just the North, but to the kind of vision that the prime minister and our government have for our country,” MacKinnon said, speaking to reporters alongside Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Rebecca Alty and Northwest Territories Premier R.J. Simpson.

Nunavut Premier John Main and Community Services Minister Craig Simailak were in attendance as well but did not speak as part of the event.

Prime Minister Mark Carney created the Major Projects Office in August 2025 under the Building Canada Act to usher projects deemed to be of national interest through the federal regulatory process.

Once a project receives this designation the regulatory focus changes from “whether” a project should proceed to “how” it will proceed, says backgrounder from the federal government on Wednesday’s announcement.

Projects of national interest must fit a criteria set by the federal government. The project must strengthen Canada’s autonomy, resilience and security; provide economic or other benefits to the country; advance the interests of Indigenous Peoples; and contribute to meeting Canada’s climate change objectives.

The proposed Grays Bay project – West Kitikmeot Resources Corp.’s $1-billion, 230-kilometre road and Arctic deepsea port   – will “improve access to global markets, support responsible resource development, and strengthen the infrastructure needed to foster economic growth and prosperity across the North,” Mackinnon said.

There is also consultation process outlined in the Build Canada Act that must be completed before designation, but MacKinnon didn’t specify when that might happen.

While referring to Grays Bay as an “incredibly central and strategic project,” the minister said it is subject to “joint” federal, territorial and community governance processes as well.

The project is awaiting approval from the Nunavut Impact Review Board. That process has just begun, after the review board accepted an impact statement for Grays Bay in May.

West Kitikmeot Resources Corp. CEO Brendan Bell says he feels “blessed” that his project is among the first up for a national interest designation.

“I think it demonstrates that the prime minister has certainly heard northern leadership, both on Mackenzie Valley and on Grays Bay, and intends to move forward and aggressively proceed with these projects,” he said.

Earning that designation is entirely the federal government’s decision, Bell said.

“This is encouraging today and maybe gives us some hope that we can start sooner,” Bell said.

Wednesday’s announcement came with no funding promises.

The plan is to start construction of the estimated $1-billion road and port by 2029.

Main, through his office, declined to comment on the announcement.