Canada Allocates Up to CA$254 Million to the Port of Saint John

The Government of Canada committed up to CA$254 million (equivalent to US$180.7 million according to Baird Maritime, or US$181 million according to another source) to the Saint John trade corridor project in New Brunswick. The announcement was made by Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon on October 21, and aims to raise the Port of Saint John's annual container throughput to between 850,000 and one million TEU.

The federal contribution comes from the CA$5 billion Trade Diversification Corridors Fund, and is the first project to receive funding from that fund, created under Canada's 2025 budget. The New Brunswick provincial government will add CA$116.5 million, and project partners will contribute a further CA$92.5 million, bringing the combined investment to CA$463 million. The port had previously received more than CA$76 million through the National Trade Corridors Fund.

The works include dredging to widen the port's main channel, breakwater improvements and the rehabilitation of marine infrastructure, which would increase high-tide windows for fully laden deeper-draft vessels by at least 30%. Port Saint John CEO Craig Bell Estabrooks noted that widening and deepening the channel will also enable two-way vessel traffic at high tide. The program also includes the expansion and modernization of the port's warehouses and a new 2,787-square-meter container inspection facility for the Canada Border Services Agency.

The rail works include upgrading 103 kilometers of New Brunswick Southern Railway track with continuous welded rail, aiming to achieve mainline speeds of up to 64 km/h and faster freight transit to the Class 1 railroads. The shoreline at the Bayshore Rail Terminal, which protects the port's only rail access, will also be stabilized, and the Simms Corner intersection will be rebuilt to separate rail traffic from road traffic.

Premier Susan Holt indicated that the works could begin in spring 2027 and be completed between 2029 and 2030. Port Saint John had previously completed a CA$247 million West Side modernization project, which according to Baird Maritime was finished in January 2026 and according to another source in late 2025; operator DP World noted that this project, combined with its own investment, raised the container terminal's design capacity from 150,000 to up to one million TEU per year. The port handled a record 239,364 TEU in 2025, up 29.4% from 184,879 TEU in 2024.