The federal government is investing $5 million in improvements at Richardson International’s grain terminal in North Vancouver, B.C.

The capital deployment is part of a $33.1-million federal investment in six transportation infrastructure projects in B.C. and Alberta, Transportation Minister Anita Anand said during a news conference at the North Vancouver facility on Wednesday. The respective six projects are either underway or already completed.

The government’s overall investment aims to improve efficiency, reduce congestion, and enhance safety and environmental responsibility, said federal officials during the news conference at the facility located at 375 Low Level Road on the North Shore waterfront.

The investments will support Canadian agriculture, particularly in exporting canola, wheat, pulses, and soybeans, and will diversify trade routes to mitigate potential tariffs from the U.S., said the officials. The projects are part of a broader strategy to strengthen Canada’s supply chains and economic resilience.

The funding, provided through the National Trade Corridors Fund, will support the North Shore Railyard Expansion project at the grain terminal. The upgrades include adding 15 new storage tracks, realigning existing tracks, and introducing crossovers, turnouts, lighting, fencing, and utilities.

These improvements, which have already been completed, are expected to enhance transportation efficiency, strengthen intermodal connectivity, and support regional trade along with the movement of goods to international markets.

“This is a project that will enhance the work that is done here, that will ensure that good jobs continue, but will also ensure that we can actually be transporting more in the way of goods, in this case, agricultural products that benefit Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba, to the world,” said Jonathan Wilkinson, the minister of energy and natural resources.

“It will help with diversification of trade and and it will create prosperity for people who live across the Lower Mainland, not simply in North Vancouver,” added Wilkinson, whose riding includes the terminal.

The federal funding was in the works for months before U.S. President Donald Trump was elected in November, said Anand. But she and Wilkinson said the North Vancouver project and the other investments will help Canada develop resilience while grappling with Trump’s looming 25% tariffs. If implemented in March as scheduled, the tariffs will rise to 50% if steel and aluminum products are sold with other goods to the U.S. Trump announced that policy earlier this week.

“The last few weeks have underlined just how important interprovincial trade and international trade diversification are,” said Wilkinson. “Canadians are enormously surprised, and I would go so far as to say shocked, by the approach taken by the Trump administration with regard to relations with Canada. While the federal government, very much including myself, are working actively to address the threat of tariffs, it is also critically important that we are reflecting on and acting on the need to ensure Canada is more resilient going forward.”

As the government works “very hard” on eliminating internal trade barriers, Canada must also deepen its trade relations with the European Union, U.K., Japan and others, he added.

“And, [the goal for more resilience] requires that we debottleneck and strengthen key transportation links, including railways and ports,” he said. “Ensuring that our supply chains are efficient and reliable must be a key priority, particularly in the current context. Ports and railways are critical to enabling us to get raw materials to domestic and international markets, and as we think about further expanding internal trade and external exports, we will need transportation to be increasingly effective and increasingly efficient.”

Anand said the government made the overall investment because strong transportation infrastructure is necessary for strong and resilient supply chains “regardless of what is happening in the White House.”

Devendra Maharaj, Richardson’s senior director of Vancouver terminal operations, said the $5-million federal provision is part of an overall $18-million investment in the North Shore terminal’s upgrades. He said the federal funding has helped Richardson boost the terminal’s capacity by 170%.

Rail cars are now received and moved on-site rather than being store off-site and transported back to the terminal. As a result, there is less rail movement near residential communities, he said.

Ultimately, Richardson is able to get farmers’ products to their destinations more easily, he added.

“The movement of goods happen not across the country by rail, road and ship, but through key terminals like this port terminal, Maharaj said.

Other federal investments as part of the $33.1-million capital commitment include:

• $10 million to Canadian National Railway for the Jaleslie Siding Extension project, improving freight and passenger rail fluidity between Kamloops, B.C., and the Port of Vancouver.
• $6.2 million to NSD Development Corporation for the NSD Inland Port project in Terrace, B.C., which will develop a multi-commodity inland port to enhance shipping in the province’s northwest.
• $5.7 million to Battle River Railway NGC for upgrades to three bridges, the development of the Forestburg Industrial Park, and new railway construction in Forestburg, Alta.
• $3.5 million to Quasar Platform for the Digitizing Canada’s Rail Supply Chain project, which will deploy 10,000 GPS sensors and integrate data to improve freight tracking and network efficiency.
• $2.7 million to IntermodeX Logistics for the Ridley North Off-Dock and Transloading Expansion project at the Port of Prince Rupert on the northwestern B.C., coast, aiming to reduce congestion and improve transloading services.

These investments will ensure that Canada’s transportation network meets future demand while the country makes the attempts to strengthen supply chains and improve economic resilience, said Anand and Wilkinson.

Pictured: Richardson International grain terminal in North Vancouver, B.C.

Photo: Richardson International