Port expansions on the Saint Lawrence River

The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) has released its first assessments regarding the two major port expansion projects seeking to be established on the Saint Lawrence Seaway: the Contrecoeur terminal of the Port of Montreal and the Laurentia Project of the Port of Québec.

The Contrecoeur terminal, Port of Montreal

In its first provisional report, the federal agency responsible for ensuring that the projects presented are not likely to cause significant negative environmental effects has given the green light to the Port of Montreal for the expansion of its activities at the Contrecoeur Terminal. Even after the transformation of its old bulk port to a new one dedicated solely to containers at its port facilities located between Boulevard Pie-IX and Viau on Rue Notre-Dame Est, the Port of Montreal will soon reach maximum capacity. Therefore, the project, which has been on the Port of Montreal’s table for some time, will respond to increasing customer demands by its integration into the organic growth plan for Port operations, which have increased continuously over the past 50 years. This large-scale project, with a capacity of 1.15 million TEUs per year, now only has to wait for the final government decision to move forward, which is expected in the first quarter of 2021.

According to the Port of Montreal administration, a new terminal at Contrecoeur will provide optimal access to intermodal transportation. In addition to being a competitive advantage for the entire transportation and logistics industry, the implementation of this project will promote economic growth in Québec and Eastern Canada, thanks to the container market. “If we don’t develop another terminal, growth will take place anyway but elsewhere. It would move to our competitor port, the Port of New York, which would constitute a loss in economic development for us,” says Sylvie Vachon, President and CEO of the Port of Montreal. ¹

Laurentia Project, Port of Québec

A second container port in Beauport Bay, why not? We have already discussed the many benefits that the implementation of this project could bring to the entire transportation and logistics industry of the province in the following article: A second port dedicated solely to ocean freight in Québec. The Laurentia Project, which is eager to consolidate in 2021, is now forced to slow its momentum, following a less than glowing report from the federal agency. In its report, the IAAC raised some concerns about the environmental impact of the project on the habitat of certain fish, including the St. Lawrence River striped bass. In addition, increasing road traffic in the area is also a concern of the federal agency vis-à-vis the air quality of residents of the neighboring district of Limoilou.

However, it should be noted that the IAAC report is based on data provided by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, which does not seem to keep updated records. According to a study conducted by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, the St. Lawrence River striped bass is no longer listed as an at-risk species, because it has been completely extinct since 1968. ² Regarding the impact on air quality, we should rather point the finger at the firewood which is responsible for more than 60% of the fine particles found in the air in this sector of the city during wintertime. The CEO of the Port of Québec, Mr. Mario Girard, recalled that “Public Health has decreed that the air quality in the area was similar to any other urban environment and that the port made a negligible contribution to pollutant emissions. The activities of the Port of Québec represent less than 3% of all dust on the ground in the area surrounding its facilities.” ^3.

The Port of Québec administration has specified that this is only a preliminary report, and they intend to defend their arguments during the 30-day open period dedicated to responding to the conclusions of the report made by the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada.

Contrary to what one might think, the two projects are not really in competition. Following a study commissioned by the Port of Québec, Laurentia would take around 10% of the Port of Montreal’s container market operations, but the majority would be stolen from American ports. ⁴ 

In the coming months, it will certainly be interesting to observe the progress of these two projects, which promise major economic opportunities and benefits for our industry and for international commercial trade. Stay tuned!

To learn more about the respective projects: