[Saint John] Port Development

[bingun]

Nice to see CTV giving some detailed coverage of the port and providing some general updates.

I assume the National Trade Diversification Fund he references is the National Trade Corridors Fund? It would be great to see an update on that next month, and that is sooner than I would have expected.

Port Saint John reports record year in 2025

https://www.ctvnews.ca/atlantic/new-brunswick/article/port-saint-john-reports-record-year-in-2025/

“We’re proud that we’re going to be well over 200,000 TEU’s – 20-foot equivalent containers – probably trending closer to 240 by the end of this year. That’s a dramatic increase considering we were about 86,00 four years ago.”

Bell Estabrooks says there are always going to be supply chain challenges but he predicts continued growth that will see the port moving upwards of 300,000 TEU’s within the next two years.

Bell Estabrooks says the port has no intention of slowing down now that the modernization project is complete. He says there are big plans in the annual capital budget have already passed through the board and plans with the National Trade Diversification Fund that are slated for release next month. He said there are plans to improve rail operations and make other infrastructure improvements including generational plans for the well known Saint John intersection, Simms Corner.

One area showing no sign of change is the American Iron and Metals property along the harbour that has been silent since a toxic fire in September 2023. Bell Estabrooks says there is no update on the matter and to his knowledge remediation work still needs to take place.

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Originally Posted by bingun

Nice to see CTV giving some detailed coverage of the port and providing some general updates.

I assume the National Trade Diversification Fund he references is the National Trade Corridors Fund? It would be great to see an update on that next month, and that is sooner than I would have expected.

Port Saint John reports record year in 2025

https://www.ctvnews.ca/atlantic/new-brunswick/article/port-saint-john-reports-record-year-in-2025/

I’m not sure if they’re the same fund or not, but possibly there’s more than one?

Here’s the accompanying YT video from the article:

• Video Link

Really great to hear the port is continuing to post record growth. I hope we see a roadmap to 1 million TEUs and beyond as part of these upcoming updates on Port Saint John developments. DP World and CPKC both seem to believe Port Saint John has the potential to be a 1 million+ TEU container port. It’s entirely plausible that Saint John could even pass the 1 million TEU mark before Halifax does, if PSJ maintains or increases this growth trajectory.

As Craig said in the interview, it’s the investments and coordination with their partners that has led to this historic success for the port. It’s amazing to think about what new partners could be be working with Port Saint John into the future… I hope we see a lot more productive and value added developments to come for Spruce Lake Industrial Park than the controversial data centre.

I still find it a bit convoluted and confusing how the Port contributes to the Saint John Region’s local budgets instead of just paying taxes… but there’s no denying that a growing and developing port is good for the city, region, and entire province of New Brunswick.

The port can help attract a lot of businesses and commercial/industrial ventures to invest in Saint John, which will mean more jobs and tax revenue for this city and region. I just hope Premier Holt and her government have pitched much bigger ideas to Prime Minister Carney for expansion and development at the Port Saint John than rail upgrades and a fix for Simms Corner.

[FromMaine]

It appears Maersk containers are starting to move with frequency on the eastbound train movements to SJ for the AL1. Should see in a month or so a big influx with the AL3 new call

[cdnguys]

Port Saint John is closing out one of its strongest years, with strong gains in container traffic and a busy cruise season.

CEO Craig Bell Estabrooks said the year unfolded during a period of uncertainty in global trade, including new tariffs in the United States and a federal election in Canada that focused heavily on supply chains.

Even with those pressures, he said the port expects to finish between 230,000 and 240,000 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), well above last year’s total of 180,000.

Estabrooks said the growth reflects a decade of planning tied to the port’s modernization program.

“You know, 10 years ago when we dreamed of the modernization and got the funding in place and started building, we knew it was going to take some time to achieve the volumes that we’re getting today,” he said.

“It’s happened a little sooner than we anticipated, but we’re still very, very early in that story.”

The port also completed its $247‑million modernization project, funded largely by the provincial and federal governments.

Estabrooks said the upgrades give Saint John a deeper harbour, modern berths and the ability to handle larger vessels. A ribbon cutting is planned for January.

Cruise traffic also reached a high point this year. Estabrooks said the port welcomed just under 200,000 passengers, including several ships diverted to Saint John due to storms.

He said the port reached its maximum capacity during five days in the fall when three ships arrived each day, and the focus was on maintaining safety and a strong passenger experience.

Looking ahead, Estabrooks said the next phase of growth will focus on land‑side improvements.

That includes better use of four underused warehouses, continued rail investment and preparing for even larger ships arriving in 2026.

He said DP World, the port’s terminal operator, has publicly described Saint John as a potential “million‑TEU play,” though the port is currently at about a quarter of that level.

“While we’re really proud of our growth, we’ve got a lot more work to do,” he said.

Estabrooks also pointed to the Americold cold‑storage facility now under construction as an important addition to the port’s future.

He said the temperature‑controlled warehouse will support food‑grade products and strengthen the port’s role in the cold chain once it opens.

He said the port’s progress has been years in the making, but the focus is already shifting to what comes next.

“You can be reflective, it’s important to be reflective,” he said. “But then you park it and move on and keep going.”

[cdnguys]

That’s 28% to 33% growth YOY. And that’s before Americold is even open and the consistent delivery of Maersk containers. That’s 250% growth since port expansion a handful of years ago.

[bingun]

Having 'right partners' key to port's growth in 2025: CEO

https://tj.news/saint-john-south/infrastructure-key-component-in-ports-growth-over-2025-ceo

Part of that growth and addition to infrastructure began in May when Americold broke ground on its first import-export hub in Canada. The 200,000 sq. ft. cold storage facility, which will create approximately 100 new jobs and is expected to contribute up to $37 million in direct provincial GDP, is expected to be operational by summer. When it opens, Bell Estabrooks said, it will help in enabling even more trade.

“We do a lot of refrigerated and temperature-controlled products today, so what I like about Americold is it’s not a brand new offering, it’s taking what we do really well to the next level,” he said.

The facility will play a vital role in the food supply chain with a variety of items being stored at the site.

“We expect to see fish, blueberries, potatoes, probably the potential for other proteins here,” Rod Chambers, president of Americas at Americold, said at the time of the groundbreaking. “It’ll be any sort of foods that needs frozen products, things that are imported here and then product that’s exported to Europe.”

Growing the port’s capacity

Physically, Bell Estabrooks said, the port has created, through its modernization project, the ability to handle larger ships and have a more fluid railyard and an improved laydown space from containers. From that, the laydown viewpoint, he said, the port is “really good” with ample acreage to sustain growth.

“We’re really good from a land standpoint, where we can create more capacity is with more rail,” he explained. “That’s definitely something our team is scoping out with DP World and others as our rail configuration continues to grow. That’s not something you’ll see in ’26 but it’s something more medium- to long-term we’re scoping out. That would create more capacity.”

Bell Estabrooks said the port is “very much” a rail entity with a lot of the cargo servicing larger population areas such as the Greater Toronto Area. Southern Ontario represents, he noted, 30 per cent of the port’s container business in terms of import/export origin/destine with the port being “very much rail-dependent.”

“If we can build up that capacity that really helps,” he said.

However, continued growth does bring questions, Bell Estabrooks said.

“You can’t get up to capacity and then turn it on like a light switch and say ‘We’d like even more capacity’ because it takes years, if not a decade, of planning to get to that next level and those are conversations that we’ve had.”

Looking ahead to 2026

Moving into a new year, Bell Estabrooks said the port aims to remain “aggressive” on the infrastructure front. He said that’s the overall theme for the coming year as the enhanced modernization project was completed in 2025 with a total of $247 million invested over the project’s 10-year length. Seventy per cent of that figure was funded through the provincial and federal governments with the remaining 30 per cent being invested by the port authority itself.

“When that comes to an end, obviously the reflection in the moment is what comes next? We’re certainly not going to just sit back and pat ourselves on the back for a great last decade,” he said. “We’ve got aggressive plans to keep going both in our regular capital budget and by leveraging the new Trade Diversification Corridors Fund that was announced in the last budget by the federal government. We anticipate that the application period will begin to roll out in the new year and our gateway is primed and ready.”

And Port Saint John is already eyeing projects.

“There’s things we want to do on terminal like taking the warehouses that we have – the dry warehouses – to the next level and turn those into more trade-enabling infrastructure. We have smaller projects on terminal and then, of course, Simms Corner rail improvements with NB Southern. The kind of mosaic of all of those projects together can just take our gateway to a greater height,” said Bell Estabrooks.

[bingun]

Not that we needed more evidence at this stage, but if it's top of mind for LeBlanc's when thinking about NB, it is happening.

https://tj.news/new-brunswick/leblanc-pledges-to-figure-out-immigration-system-that-works-for-n-b

LeBlanc made the comments in listing off several ways the provincial Liberals in New Brunswick and federal Liberals in Ottawa can collaborate in the year ahead.

“I’m optimistic about 2025-26, about doing big things around the Port of Saint John, around the Port of Belledune, around Sisson mine,” he said.

[bingun]

The federal transport minister will be in town next week.

[irisheyes]

That headline based on a dizzying quote from Leblanc is more proof the liberals need to go asap.

They wrecked our immigration system and by all other metrics— housing, affordability, inflation, debt, social cohesion and more— they have really destabilized Canada.

Quite frightening how we voted them back in to somehow fix the problems they themselves created. I'm not sure what prevailing ideology is guiding their delusions but there is certainly a trend among ideologically similar governing parties in the West such as the UK and France.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by irisheyes

That headline based on a dizzying quote from Leblanc is more proof the liberals need to go asap.

They wrecked our immigration system and by all other metrics— housing, affordability, inflation, debt, social cohesion and more— they have really destabilized Canada.

Quite frightening how we voted them back in to somehow fix the problems they themselves created. I'm not sure what prevailing ideology is guiding their delusions but there is certainly a trend among ideologically similar governing parties in the West such as the UK and France.

We voted the Liberals back in because the alternative (Trumpian maggots under Pierre Poillievre) was unthinkable.

Trudeau was such a disaster that a Poillievre victory was all but assured, but as soon as his insipid ass was licked to the curb, and a thoughtful, reasonable and intellgent alternative (Carney) was made available, reason prevailed and the maggot tyranny was avoided.

Thank God for that!!!

[Gnarly]

lol Delusional or what. You must be part of the problem

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

We voted the Liberals back in because the alternative (Trumpian maggots under Pierre Poillievre) was unthinkable.

Trudeau was such a disaster that a Poillievre victory was all but assured, but as soon as his insipid ass was licked to the curb, and a thoughtful, reasonable and intellgent alternative (Carney) was made available, reason prevailed and the maggot tyranny was avoided.

Thank God for that!!!

You can say all that again!


Now let’s see what the “new government” actually delivers for Canada’s oldest port / third largest port by gross tonnage.

A Simms Corner fix is important, as are continued rail upgrades, but what’s really needed to get the port to 1 million TEUs of containers is further port expansion projects… possibly even deepwater expansion projects at Lorneville/ Mispec.

Will be interesting to hear what is discussed and hinted at, at this upcoming luncheon with the minister of transport.

The minister of transport is technically the most important government official when it comes to Canada’s ports, but with this government, I think it’s clear that the most important person, by far, is Prime Minister Carney himself. Don Dominic certainly has a lot of influence too… a lot more than our local MP, Mr. Long.

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Noticed the PM posted this last night on insta:





Maybe some positive foreshadowing for future expansion at Port Saint John.





Today is the big luncheon at Port Saint John with his minister of transportation

Hope they drop some big hints today for what’s to come in the Port’s future.

[bingun]

Long story short, it was essentially a ribbon-cutting event for the original modernization project. No specifics on new funding yet, but lots of implications as usual.

BREAKING: the West Side Modernization at Port Saint John is officially complete! I’m proud to have helped deliver this historic $247 million investment, strengthening port capacity, supporting good-paying jobs, and positioning Saint John as one of Canada’s fastest-growing trade gateways.

Our new government’s first federal budget builds on this by investing $5 billion in the new Trade Diversification Corridors Fund. As announced in November, this Fund will invest in projects like the proposed Saint John Trade Corridor project and others across the country to expand Canada’s reach and help double our overseas exports within a decade, unlocking $300 billion in new opportunities for our workers and businesses.

Saint John on frontlines of ‘war,’ says federal transport minister

https://tj.news/new-brunswick/saint-john-on-frontlines-of-war-says-federal-transport-minister

Holt and MacKinnon sat down together in Fredericton on Monday where those requests were again detailed.

“We’ve been working on this project for a while,” Holt said on Tuesday of the Simms Corner redevelopment.

“We’re now into the dollars and cents of who’s going to pay for what and we look forward to having the minister back out here in the near future announcing that it’s a go.

“‘Near future’ for the decision is months, but the project is a long project. You don’t dig up and lift a road and make space for trains overnight. It’s going to take multiple years to do all the testing and evaluation and the actual development and reconstruction of that intersection.

“It’s a multi-year project, so that’s why we need to get going.”
Holt did acknowledge, however, that there are still decisions on the project to be made.

“Our team has been working on this with the City of Saint John, the Port of Saint John, with the federal government, designs are in place, we’ve got to engage with the community to talk about the options, make that choice,” Holt said.

“And then get all the funding partners together so that we can get shovels in the ground so that doesn’t become a bottleneck for growth.”

Asked by Brunswick News for a timeline on a decision for dollars to flow, MacKinnon stated there was still some work on the province’s end.

“We’re going to begin inviting and accepting proposals very early this year, so in the coming weeks and months,” he said.

[sailor734]

Always amazed at how politicians will milk the same project/funding over and over again for years. Announcing and re-announcing the same spending over and over and over again.

[darkharbour]

Originally Posted by sailor734

Always amazed at how politicians will milk the same project/funding over and over again for years. Announcing and re-announcing the same spending over and over and over again.

I can't believe they gave nine different people scissors for the ribbon cutting

[DyAm00394]

New CTV article:

Federal Transport Minister says Saint John key to growing Canada’s trade

https://www.ctvnews.ca/atlantic/new-brun...saint-john-key-to-growing-canadas-trade/

"As Canada continues its push to diversify its trading partners outside of the United States, federal Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon assured Saint John, N.B., it has a key role to play in Ottawa’s plans.

“From the federal government’s point of view, [Saint John] occupy some of the most strategic real estate on the planet right now,” the minister said during a luncheon hosted by the Saint John Chamber of Commerce.

“That is the real estate that allows us to expand, to double our trade and our ability to trade with the rest of the world. It’s an amazing opportunity that is in front of New Brunswick and the Maritimes and Atlantic Canada.”

The minister says New Brunswick and the rest of the Maritimes are being called upon as part of the national effort to facilitate a smoother flow of goods across the country. He visited Saint John to mark the completion of Port Saint John’s $247-million west side modernization project that significantly improved infrastructure at the container terminal.

The completion of the project has allowed the port’s on-dock container throughput capacity to more than quadruple to over 800,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units). It also brought on an additional berth for ships, a deepened and widen channel and several other infrastructure improvements.
MacKinnon says the Bay of Fundy port will help Canada reach markets in Asia, the Middle East and Europe, with Saint John expected to play a vital role in helping goods flow to European nations.

“I see nothing but upside for Atlantic Canada, maybe even particular for New Brunswick,” he says. “It’s going to take an act of will and people sitting down around a common objective and talking to each other about how to build.”

DP World CEO Doug Smith pointed out during his speech that the container terminal operator has signed a multi-decade lease with lots of extensions with the port.

“You’re going to see us focus on efficiency,” Smith says. “The customer needs to go, ‘Saint John is my port.’ What that means is we got to talk to the customer and know what exactly is missing, what do they need?”

Port Saint John president and CEO Craig Bell Estabrooks says with the upgrades to the port, Saint John’s trade corridor is growing, which will lead to further improvements.

“It’ll be a combination of all,” Bell Estabrooks says when asked if the upgrades will be government funded or paid for by private investments. “I think it’s too early to say where exactly the funding formulas are going to land, but the new Federal Trade Diversification fund, we’ll definitely have dollars available for some of these projects.”

The re-design of the west side intersection known as Simms Corner is high on the list of projects for Bell Estabrooks. New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt met with the federal transport minister Monday to talk about several topics, including Simms Corner.

“Imagine a million TEUs going through Simms Corner and what that’s going to do to the traffic, to the quality of life of neighbors,” says Holt. “We need to do something with that intersection now.”

The premier said designs are in place, but community engagement sessions still need to be done before any decisions are finalized. She also made note to say the involved parties are in the phase of discussion over who will pay for what as part of the road’s redevelopment.

“I know we will be very interested in continuing to participate in the Simms Corner,” says MacKinnon. “Simms Corner is but one of a series of pieces of infrastructure that will continue to help this port to grow.”

Holt says plans for the project could be unveiled in the next few months”.

[cdnguys]

Some of the largest ships ever to come to Saint John are scheduled now to rest of month. 2 I believe are new to port.

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by cdnguys

Some of the largest ships ever to come to Saint John are scheduled now to rest of month. 2 I believe are new to port.

Does Oasis of the Seas hold the current record as the largest ship to enter the port??

She's 361.8M and 226,838 Gross Tons

[cdnguys]

Originally Posted by sailor734

Does Oasis of the Seas hold the current record as the largest ship to enter the port??

She's 361.8M and 226,838 Gross Tons

Yes I think that would be biggest. One out in outer harbour now is 321x43’