Manitoba plans to pitch Port of Churchill expansion to world's leading investors

Manitoba plans to pitch Port of Churchill expansion to world's leading investors

'We have a pretty good offer to put in front of them,' Premier Wab Kinew says

Manitoba is pitching its project to upgrade the Port of Churchill and expand its trade corridor to some of the world's biggest investors.

Private investment firms and some leading sovereign wealth funds have been invited to attend a summit in Toronto, hosted by the federal government, in September.

"We have a pretty good offer to put in front of them," Premier Wab Kinew told reporters at a news conference on Wednesday.

The conference is part of a broader effort to draw global investment to Canada, in part to advance national-building projects.

Manitoba is planning to attend and pitch the Port of Churchill Plus project to both international and domestic organizations, a spokesperson for the government confirmed.

"We'll be there. Maybe a little friendly competition with some of our neighbouring provinces about their projects," Kinew said.

"We know that there are sovereign wealth funds who have a mandate to invest in Canada…. Hopefully, we'll be able to start pulling in some of that investment."

The proposed port expansion was among several shortlisted by the federal government as "transformative" projects last year, but major improvements would be needed.

The port and railway are operated by Arctic Gateway Group, which has an ownership group made up of 29 First Nations and 12 remote northern Manitoba communities.

CBC News has reached out to Arctic Gateway for comment about Kinew's plans to pitch the port's project to investors.

The premier said his government is also looking to outline about six mining and natural resource projects at next month's summit.