

Currents: Manitoban forestry industry needs to find new markets
It has been an especially challenging year for the economy in northern Manitoban. Beyond the potential closure of the Port of Churchill and the Hudson Bay railroad, British Columbia-based Tolko Industries announced in August 2016 its intent to close a pulp-and-paper mill that has operated in The Pas for more than 40 years. This could
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Currents: The face of western Canada agriculture is changing quickly
When thinking of agriculture, Canadians might envision an industry characterized by large-scale grain production or ranches with a thousand head of cattle. Certainly the statistics – or even a simple drive through the Prairies – would seem to support this view. In 2015, Canada exported nearly $1.6 billion worth of beef products and $5.0 billion
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Currents: Canada’s Arctic port at a crossroads
Churchill’s uncertain future—Part 1 The Port of Churchill – the only Arctic port in Canada – closed “for the season” but quite possibly for good on Aug. 8. It is widely assumed that the owner of the port, Denver-based OmniTRAX, will not reopen it, although the company has said it will consider opening for the
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Currents: Western Canada’s relationship with global trade blocs
A SNAPSHOT OF OUR SERIES ON WESTERN CANADA TRADE In the past month, we’ve been looking at western Canada’s relationship with some of the major global trade blocs. The volume of the West’s trade with each bloc varies significantly. It comes as no surprise that NAFTA is western Canada’s most important trading relationship – mainly
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