 | |
| Company type | Limited partnership |
|---|---|
| Industry | Transportation |
| Founded | 2018; 6 years ago (2018) |
| Headquarters |
,
Canada
|
Area served | Northern Region, Manitoba |
| Owner | OneNorth[2] |
| Divisions |
|
| Website | arcticgateway |
Arctic Gateway Group LP is a limited partnership that owns and operates the Port of Churchill and the Hudson Bay Railway, which connects The PastoChurchill, Manitoba.[3][4] It was originally formed as a public-private partnership; with a fifty percent share held by Missinippi Rail, a consortium of northern Manitoba First Nations and local governments, and the private share split between Toronto-based Fairfax Financial Holdings and Regina-based grains company AGT Food and Ingredients.[5][6][7] Fairfax and AGT transferred their shares of Arctic Gateway to OneNorth (formerly Missinippi Rail) in March 2021, meaning that Arctic Gateway is completely owned by the local governments and Indigenous partners.[2][8]
On November 19, 2018, Murad Al-Katib, CEO of AGT Food and Ingredients announced that freight service along the HBR had begun and that passenger service was expected to begin by the end of November.[7] The first Via Rail passenger train service along the repaired HBR line arrived on December 4, 2018.[9]
While grain had traditionally been the major cargo shipped from the port, AGT CEO Al-Katib said the partnership would look into shipping potash, ore and petroleum products.[10] Al-Katib also said one possible revenue source could be foreign eco-tourists.[10]
Of the announced funding, $74 million will be spent over the next three years to help cover the costs of buying and repairing the line and the port. The remaining $43 million will be spent over 10 years to pay for operations and to enhance the commercial viability of the line, the port and the tank farm.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement at the Port of Churchill this morning, as hundreds of residents gathered for a street party to celebrate the arrival last night of the first train into Churchill in 18 months.
The railway and the Port of Churchill have been purchased from Denver-based Omnitrax Inc. by Arctic Gateway Group Limited Partnership, a private-public partnership that includes Missinippi Rail Limited Partnership, Fairfax Financial Holdings and AGT Limited Partnership.
Arctic Gateway Group is a coalition of local rail-line communities, area First Nations, Saskatchewan grain and pulse trader AGT Food and Ingredients and Toronto holding company Fairfax Financial.
Phase two applies to their long-term plans for the port and rail line, he said, as the consortium, with 50 per cent ownership by AGT and Fairfax, and 50 per cent by the communities, signed a 99-year management agreement.
