Infrastructure support for the Port of Vancouver

The federal government has announced a major investment of $55.8 million for four projects led by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority.

The projects include:

• Addition of nearly 5km of track at the Canadian Pacific Facility, reconstruction of Harris Road to provide four lanes that will travel beneath the existing Canadian Pacific railway, and construction of a new two-lane overpass to replace the crossing at Kennedy Road in Pitt Meadows;
• Upgrade of the existing Westwood Street and Kingsway Avenue intersections at the railway corridor to separate road traffic from rail traffic on the municipal boundary between the Cities of Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam;
• Design work to raise Pitt River Road and Colony Farm Road to create overpasses of the existing rail corridor (and Lougheed Road) that will allow for a new 5 km-long section of track that will pass beneath these two crossings permitting trains to travel in both directions along the Canadian Pacific in the City of Coquitlam; and
• Improvements at the existing Canadian Pacific railway overpass at Mountain Highway that include lowering the roadway to provide additional clearance for oversized cargo travelling under the railway bridge in North Vancouver.

“Our government is investing in Canada’s economy by making improvements to our trade and transportation corridors. We are supporting projects that will efficiently move commercial goods to market and people to their destinations, stimulate economic growth, create quality middle-class jobs, and ensure that Canada’s transportation networks remain competitive and efficient,” said Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport, in a related media release.

“Investing in the Port of Vancouver’s infrastructure will benefit not only the local and Canadian economy but also provide Canadian exporters with new opportunities to reach the global market,” added Ron McKinnon, Member of Parliament for Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam

Quick Facts

• The Port of Vancouver is a critical link to Asia, most notably with China, South Korea and Japan. The U.S. is also among its principal trading links.
• The Port of Vancouver is the 3rd largest port in North America in terms of volume and the largest port in Canada, almost four times larger than Canada’s second busiest port (Montréal) with 142 million tonnes of cargo handled in 2017 (2.7 million tonnes per week).
• Transportation is an important element of Canada’s trade with other countries. In 2017, total international merchandise trade amounted to $1.1 trillion. The United States continued to be Canada’s top trade partner, with $703 billion in trade ($415 billion exported, $288 billion imported), accounting for 63.5% of total Canadian trade in 2017.
• The Government of Canada places a strong emphasis on exports because of the connection between trade and good, well-paying jobs, as industries that are export-intensive pay wages that are, on average, more than 50 per cent higher than industries that are not.