Business Brief: The rise of Prince Rupert

Good morning. Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to announce the next round of “Major Projects Office” approvals from Prince Rupert – a northern B.C. port serving as a growing stage for Ottawa’s infrastructure push.

The government is expected to add at least four mining and energy developments to his government’s major projects list on Thursday, The Globe reported last night.

More on that below – plus, how China’s livestream shopping craze is sweeping into Western retail and transforming toy sales.

Up first

In the news

Deals: Teck Resources Ltd. held talks with Vale Base Metals Ltd., a subsidiary of Brazil’s Vale SA, before agreeing to an acquisition by Anglo American PLC.

Economy: Arctic sovereignty hinges on whether Canada’s North gains electricity and broadband connection to the rest of the country, the proponent of a $3.2-billion hydro-fibre project linking Manitoba to Nunavut says.

Climate: A novel bond fund that bets rainforests are worth more alive than dead is launched at COP30 in Brazil. It just might work, Eric Reguly writes.

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Cow Bay and the tourist area of Prince Rupert, B.C., August, 2018.Colin N. Perkel/The Canadian Press

In focus

The port that anchors Canada’s ambitions

When Mark Carney steps off the plane in Prince Rupert on Thursday, he’ll be arriving at the edge of the continent – and the centre of his government’s economic agenda.

The northern B.C. port, home to fewer than 13,000 people, has become a focal point for Ottawa’s push to fast-track what it calls “nation-building” infrastructure.

From the air, Prince Rupert looks carved off from the mainland – a port built along a narrow strip of coast between rainforest and rock, linked by one bridge and a rail line. But the Prince Rupert Port Authority oversees the deepest natural harbour in North America and one of the closest ports to Asia, about 500 nautical miles nearer than Vancouver or Seattle. Containers from Asia can reach the Prairies in less than 100 hours by rail, and a new round of federal funding is aimed at expanding that capacity further still.

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The government’s choice of Prince Rupert to announce a list of approvals underscores how much of the country’s biggest ambitions are already anchored there – a region once known mainly for its fishing industry and relentless rain, now recast as a gateway to Canada’s resource future and its trade independence.

The announcement, The Globe reported last night, will include the nearby Ksi Lisims liquefied natural gas project, as well as Ontario’s Crawford nickel mine, New Brunswick’s Sisson mine, and a hydroelectric development in Iqaluit.

At Fairview and Ridley Island, the port’s expansion is reshaping sites that sat idle through decades of industrial decline. The Ridley Island Propane Export Terminal, opened in 2019, ships propane to Japan and South Korea about once a week – the first facility in Canada to do so.

Beside it, construction is under way on a $1.35-billion expansion by AltaGas and Royal Vopak that will add propane, butane, methanol and other bulk liquids by 2026. The nearby Metlakatla First Nation is helping to build an import logistics hub with federal financing, part of a broader move toward Indigenous ownership in the infrastructure that carries Canada’s exports abroad.

And over a longer term, Brent Jang writes, there are plans to increase container capacity. The operator of the existing Fairview terminal, DP World PLC, is slated to run a potential second facility that would add capacity roughly equal to one million shipping containers a year, effectively doubling the port’s scale.

Not everyone in the region will be applauding Carney’s arrival tomorrow if his announcement includes Ksi Lisims, which is facing separate legal challenges launched by the Lax Kw’alaams Band and by the Metlakatla. Prince Rupert is situated on the traditional territory of the Tsimshian Nation, which includes both communities.

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Fast facts

A combination of geography, history and rail access helps explain why so much of Ottawa’s infrastructure agenda runs through Prince Rupert:

500 nautical miles

Distance advantage to Asia compared with Vancouver or Seattle – cutting up to 60 hours of sailing time on trans-Pacific routes.

35 metres

Depth of the harbour – the deepest natural in North America, ice-free year-round.

4.1 days

Average rail travel time for containers from Prince Rupert to Chicago – about 20 per cent faster than from Seattle or Los Angeles.

18,000 feet

Total rail track built directly on the dock at Fairview Terminal – enough to load and unload several long trains at once.

$1.35-billion

Investment in the Ridley Island Energy Export Facility – the largest private project in the port’s history, due for completion in 2026.

$117-million

Total cost of the Metlakatla First Nation’s logistics hub, supported by a $60.7-million Canada Infrastructure Bank loan.

19,000 kilometres

Extent of CN’s continental rail network linking Prince Rupert to the U.S. Midwest, Eastern Canada and the Gulf of Mexico.

1,200

Approximate number of ships that docked at the Port of Prince Rupert in 2024 – reflecting both container ships and bulk carriers that move fuel, grain and other raw materials.

Source: The Prince Rupert Port Authority

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Influencer Anna Williams and Chinese actor Mary He during a livestream shopping show in London.Isabel Infantes/Reuters

Charted

Livestream commerce goes global

Labubu dolls – the wide-eyed figurines from Chinese toymaker Pop Mart – are a global obsession. This week, they took centre stage in London, where Alibaba’s AliExpress launched a livestream shopping blitz tied to China’s Singles’ Day.

British influencer Anna Williams, joined by co-host Mary He, spent hours opening “blind boxes” – sealed packages that conceal which collectible sits inside – for viewers on the AliExpress app. The company expects to sell roughly 10,000 toys by Friday, underscoring how livestream commerce, a format born in China, is gaining traction in Western markets.

If you’re Labubu-curious, be mindful of the nefarious “Lafufu” knockoffs.

Up next

Also on our radar today

In the meeting: The Bank of Canada publishes a summary of the deliberations that took place ahead of its last lending-rate decision. You can find our full earnings and economic calendar here.

At the bell: Earnings today include Loblaw Cos. Ltd., Manulife Financial Corp. and Power Corp. of Canada. On Wall Street, Cisco’s quarterly report will bring concerns over tech valuations into focus.

In Niagara: Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand hosts the G7 Foreign Ministers’ meeting, which is largely focused on Ukraine.

Morning update

World stocks rallied as the U.S. Congress looked set to end a federal shutdown, paving the way for an end to a data fog that has fuelled uncertainty over the U.S. economic outlook.

On Wall Street, Dow futures, S&P500 futures and Nasdaq futures all edged higher. TSX futures were also up.

Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 advanced 0.70 per cent in early trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.13 per cent, Germany’s DAX gained 1.22 per cent and France’s CAC 40 was up 1.14 per cent.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.43 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.85 per cent.

The Canadian dollar traded at 71.34 U.S. cents.