Ports of Montreal, Québec and Trois-Rivières look to jointly strengthen the St. Lawrence corridor

The Port Authorities of Montreal, Québec and Trois-Rivières have announced the creation of a working group to identify and facilitate the implementation of joint initiatives. The signing of a collaboration agreement between these three ports on the St. Lawrence River is motivated by strategic, environmental and economic factors.

The three ports combined annually handle approximately 72.4m tons of general cargo, containers, non-containerized general cargo, and solid and liquid bulk. The St. Lawrence is the entry and exit route for a multitude of goods, food and materials traded between Canada and the rest of the world.

“Global supply chains are being restructured. Shipping lines and import-export stakeholders are looking for the best routes at the best cost and want to accelerate the decarbonisation of maritime transport. There are opportunities for our ports and for our economy,” said Martin Imbleau, President and CEO of the Montreal Port Authority.

“What facilitates collaboration is our complementarity,” said Gaétan Boivin, President and CEO of the Trois-Rivières Port Authority. “The ports of Montréal, Québec and Trois-Rivières each have their own expertise and specific roles in the supply chain. Increasing our collaboration will create synergies that will benefit the customers we serve and the communities in which we operate.”

The working group will explore different avenues of collaboration that could improve the competitiveness of the St. Lawrence corridor, such as the connection between the ports and freight and train transport networks, the exchange of expertise, or the compatibility of technological systems. Since the Government of Canada has announced its intention to modernize the Canada Marine Act, the act that governs the Canadian port authorities’ operations, the working group’s conclusions could also be used to inform the work of Transport Canada.