Friday, March 21, 2025
The Government of Quebec announced announced $130 million in funding to the Montreal Port Authority (MPA) for its project to build a container terminal in Contrecœur.
This investment in the Port of Montreal expansion project in Contrecœur is major for Quebec’s port industry. With the port having reached the maximum capacity of its facilities, this major project will increase Quebec’s maritime transport capacity.
“In the current context, it is more essential than ever to strengthen Quebec’s competitiveness and diversify our markets to reduce our dependence on the United States. Increasing our maritime transportation capacity is excellent news for our economy, as it will create thousands of jobs and generate sustainable economic benefits. This is a major step forward to ensure our prosperity in a rapidly changing economic environment,” said François Legault, Prime Minister.
The Contrecœur terminal will have an annual capacity of 1.15 million containers, or 60 per cent of that of the Port of Montreal. It will be strategically connected to the CN rail network and Highway 30. Its commissioning, scheduled for 2029, will generate significant economic benefits, with nearly 6,500 jobs during construction and 1,100 permanent jobs thereafter.
“At a time when our companies are looking to diversify their trade, increasing our container handling capacity represents new opportunities for local companies that want to turn to other markets and do business with one of the 140 countries that can be reached by the shipping lines that pass through our region. Diversifying trade necessarily involves the river and a port. The expansion of the Port of Montreal is not only an important and essential project: in the current context, it has become urgent. This type of major project… it is the project of a generation. I thank the Government of Quebec for being part of it,” said Julie Gascon, President and CEO of the Montreal Port Authority.
The cost of the project amounts to some $1.575 billion and the terminal is scheduled to come into service in 2029. The development of the container terminal in Contrecœur is one of the measures in the Quebec government’s maritime vision action plan, Avantage Saint-Laurent. The project will include two berths, a container yard, a container handling area, an intermodal rail yard, support facilities, rail and road access, as well as a truck control zone.
“This project is perfectly consistent with our government’s vision of increasing the competitiveness of our St. Lawrence River through modern port infrastructure. It is a timely project, a central pillar that will contribute to strengthening the Quebec and Canadian logistics chain, and that will favorably position Quebec in the container market compared to its competitors on the east coast of the United States. We are proud to participate in this project that will benefit the economic development of all of Quebec,” said Geneviève Guilbault, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility.
Featured image: (Government of Quebec)
