Major Nunavut infrastructure project could be announced Thursday
Carney says 5 more nation-building projects will be revealed; could include Grays Bay road and port
Government will announce next five nation building projects on Thursday in Prince Rupert, B.C., says Prime Minister Mark Carney. Seen here taking questions from reporters on Monday in Fredricton, N.B. (Photo courtesy of CPAC)
Nunavummiut could learn as early as Thursday whether a major Arctic infrastructure project will get federal government backing.
For months, the federal government has been highlighting what it calls nation-building projects of national interest.
The Arctic Economic and Security Corridor, top left, is one 10 major “nation-building projects” highlighted in last Tuesday’s federal budget. (Image courtesy of the Government of Canada)
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the first five of those projects that will be recommended for fast-track approval as well as the creation of the Major Projects Office which will review project proposals for approval, back in August.
At that time, Carney said five more projects would be announced “before the Grey Cup,” the Canadian Football League championship game which is scheduled for Sunday in Winnipeg.
At a news conference Monday in Fredericton, N.B, Carney said the next round of major projects will be revealed Thursday in Prince Rupert, B.C.
The 2025-26 federal budget, released Nov. 4, included the previously announced first five projects but without funding amounts. None involving Nunavut were on the list.
The budget also listed a second group of five projects it said were “at an earlier stage and require further development.”
One of them — the Arctic Economic and Security Corridor — is described in the budget as “a set of all-weather, dual-use, land and port-to-port-to-port infrastructure projects that will contribute to Canada’s defence and northern development.”
The security corridor would support development of critical minerals projects and connect communities to the rest of Canada while increasing the capabilities and reach of the Canadian Armed Forces.
The project would link Nunavut to southern Canada via a road for the first time, with its terminus in Edmonton, Alta.
Part of the Arctic Economic and Security Corridor is the Grays Bay Road and Port project, according to the website of corridor proponent West Kitikmeot Resources Corp.
The road and port project, proposed in 2016, is a 230-kilometre all-season road and deepsea port in Kitikmeot Region which would open vast areas for mining exploration and development.
Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok has been a longtime proponent of the project recently stating he was “optimistic” about the project even though it had been left off Carney’s initial group of five projects announced in September
Federal officials did not respond to a request for comment Monday.
The other projects listed among the second group of five in the budget are an Alberta carbon-capture storage network and pipeline; upgrade to the port of Churchill, Man.; a high-speed railway to connect Toronto and Quebec City; and a renewable energy and wind project in Nova Scotia.
Making the announcement in Prince Rupert suggests Mr. Carney has convinced at least a few First Nation Chiefs to support a pipeline project from Alberta to the Pacific.
First the French, and then the British, came to North America looking for valuable resouces that they could take to Europe to make themselves rich.
First it was fish, then furs, then trees. After that they polluted the rivers to take gold and other minerals.
It has never been about using resouces to improve the lives of the people living in North America. It has always been “grab, destroy, and run”.
Sounds like Mark Carney is set to continue the practice. He is a banker. Bankers work for rich people.
His announced plan is to turn Canada into an “energy superpower”. Like Saudi Arabia, where a few people are fabulously wealthy and most people are dependent on the government for their survival.
I M PRO PIPELINE !!!!!!!!!!!!!
This road will not connect any communities it will only connect proposed mines like izok lake amd high lake along with ulu mine. The road to exploitation of caribou and countless number of animals and their habitats. All for minerals for the rest of the world. Leave nothing but environmental disasters all over thelands first then leave it to nunavumiut to clean up the mess
You hit the nail on the head. It seems that way throughout the whole world. Has Carney or any politician said anything about preserving the environment, it’s always how the “haves” can have more. Make Canada great and screw the environment.
Make it to Kugluktuk instead provide a good future for the young ones
We , all don t live in the enchanted forest.
The budget hasn’t been voted on yet. He’s just trying to stay relevant while he can.