CALGARY, Alberta — The premiers of Alberta and Ontario have signed agreements to pursue construction of more rail lines and pipelines to tap into natural resources including Alberta oil and Ontario’s “Ring of Fire” mineral region.
At a Monday press conference in Calgary, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Ontario’s Doug Ford announced the signing of two memoranda of understanding as part of an effort to make Canada less reliant on the United States in the wake of President Donald Trump’s continued use and threats of tariffs against trade partners.
“The best way to protect Canadian workers from tariffs and economic uncertainty is to build the infrastructure that will get our resources to new markets,” Ford said in a social media post.
One memorandum calls for “development of rail infrastructure to support the subsequent phases of the Ring of Fire, including all critical mineral mining projects and the infrastructure needed to support them, as well as processing and refining capacity needed for an end-to-end Canadian critical minerals supply chain, including access to western Canadian ports.” It also calls for cross-country pipelines to deliver Alberta oil to Ontario and other ports and refineries, and a feasibility study to boost private-sector investment in such projects.
The second memorandum includes an Alberta commitment to purchase Canadian-made vehicles for government fleets to support Ontario’s auto industry.
“These MOUs are about building pipelines and boosting trade that connect Canadian energy and products to the world, while advocating for the right conditions to get it done,” Smith said in a press release. “Government must get out of the way, partner with industry and support the projects this country needs to grow.”
The Ring of Fire region, in Ontario’s far north, includes reserves of chromite, cobalt, nickel, copper, and platinum. Ontario is seeking to develop year-round road access into the region. An automated 338-kilometer (210-mile) rail line has also been proposed to move chromite from the region to a processing or transfer facility on an existing Canadian National line near Nakina, Ontario.
Considering that the Nakina Cutoff that was built in 1926 and ripped out 60 years later makes one ask if there is adequate east-west traffic that far north to justify the expense.
The Nakina cutoff was built in 1923 and is still very much in service. It was built to connect the National Transcontinental Railway at Nakina with the Canadian Northern Railway at Longlac.
By the time the cutoff was constructed, both the NTR and the CNoR were functioning under the umbrella of the Canadian National Railway due to financial troubles. When the cutoff was placed in service, the NTR between Winnipeg and Nakina and that CNoR between Longlac and Toronto became the primary CN main line between Winnipeg and Toronto. The railroad between Nakina and Calstock was abandoned in 1986, but that’s the former NTR main line and not the cutoff. The ex-CNoR Kinghorn subdivision between Thunder Bay and Longlac was taken up in 2010 with the end of traffic occurring several years previous. CPKC now handles whatever traffic east traffic there is from Thunder Bay.
Just went through Nakina and Longlac on the VIA Canadian and saw where the old lines were. At Longlac there is a short spur track remaining at the “Longlac Junction” sign. At Nakina, just a dirt road. For good maps see openrailwaymap.org
My understanding of Canadian providence’s geography must be is badly out of Wack. I do not recall any physical connection between Ontario and Alberta. Now products from each area certainly calls for this MOU. But to connect the 2 by rail will need the following. Alway thought Manitoba and Saskatchewan were between the two for any direct rail line unless they are going to run lines down to CP and C
N.
The link between the two provinces is that the two people in the photograph are conservative premiers. Surprising that the Saskatchewan premier was not in on the photo op. Smith is known as the MTG of Canada, having flown to Mar-a-Lago in January prior to Trump’s inauguration. Ford is more reality-based, though he really thinks Ontario can build a 60km highway tunnel under the 401 freeway through and on either side of Toronto. $40 billion CAD at least.
The rail line to the “Ring of Fire” is not a bad idea, but CN’s main east-west line would need to be upgraded to accommodate the extra traffic. Most of the areas in Alberta that are resource-rich already have railroads in place.
“The link between the two provinces is that the two people in the photograph are conservative premiers. Surprising that the Saskatchewan premier was not in on the photo op.”
Alberta native, Liberal PM Mark Carney, along with Premiers Conservatives Smith and Ford, need to sit down with Trump for some serious tariff talks and agreements, and stop all the whining. Then that could/should further open the idea of the Alaska to Alberta (A2A) railroad project as part of Smith and Ford’s rail and pipeline expansions, a potential economic boon for Canada.