Canada must ramp up container shipments at smaller ports: trade group

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MONTREAL — The Chamber of Marine Commerce has called on Ottawa to allow international containers into smaller ports by bolstering customs clearance on the docks.

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Adding customs facilities to six ports on the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes would improve shipping efficiency, cut truck congestion and reduce reliance on the United States, according to the industry group.

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Currently, just five ports across the country — Halifax, Saint John, N.B., Montreal, Vancouver and Prince Rupert, B.C. — have Canada Border Services Agency officers on hand to inspect some of the millions of international shipping containers that arrive by boat.

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A chamber-commissioned study by Aviseo Conseil found that outfitting the half-dozen inland ports with customs processing would ease bottlenecks at the Port of Montreal and generate $132 million in business income each year.

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“If the government of Canada wants to realize its ambition to build the strongest economy in the G7, they would provide CBSA support to more ports on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway,” Maguessa Morel-Laforce, the group’s government relations director, said in a release.

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“Doing so would create tens of millions of dollars in benefits across provinces while paying back any investment almost immediately.”

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The push to boost both CBSA capacity and container shipments comes after a similar demand last month from cities along the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence, whose mayors argued that Canada lost out on revenue and jobs due to the four customs-equipped American ports along the route, versus one — Montreal’s — north of the border.

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In a joint letter, municipal leaders from Quebec City to Windsor, Ont., said the imbalance was weakening the region’s role as a competitive maritime hub, with the seaway operating at just 50 per cent capacity. The vast majority of the cargo is made up of bulk goods such as iron ore, grain and cement rather than containers, which carry everything from consumer electronics to kitchen utensils.

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Four of the ports cited by the chamber are in Ontario _ Hamilton, Windsor, Goderich and Picton — with the two others in Quebec City and Valleyfield, west of Montreal.

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Valleyfield hosted customs officers until recently, but the CBSA pulled out of the port last year.

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Prime Minister Mark Carney said last month he wants to fast-track expansion of the Port of Montreal, one of five major infrastructure projects green-lit by the federal government.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2025.

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