With the entire Great Lakes-St. Lawrence waterway system at 50 per cent capacity, and with St. Lawrence Seaway cargo volumes up 9 per cent in 2017, and almost 7 per cent in 2018, we have a great opportunity to build on momentum and increase the amount of goods moving by marine to relieve congestion on highways.
Inland and coastal marine shipping are large contributors to North America’s economic and trade success, supporting CDN$60 billion in economic activity and 329,000 jobs in the bi-national Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region alone. These numbers underline the importance of marine transportation infrastructure for facilitating domestic and cross-border trade, as well as partnerships throughout the world.
More than $7 billion is being spent on port and waterways infrastructure and new advanced eco ships to make the bi-national Great Lakes-St. Lawrence safer, more efficient and environmentally advanced. Two thirds of that investment come from the private sector.
Continued federal government investment in improving infrastructure in ports, the Seaway and other vital intermodal connections is key to the continued success of this bi-national trade corridor.