The sub-Arctic town pitching itself as Canada's gateway to Europe

Churchill, Manitoba, best known as the world's polar bear capital, has ambitions of making its deep-water port a year-round trade route.

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But where weather is a hindrance, it has geography on its side - the northern Manitoba port sits on the Hudson Bay, a vast body of water with a direct route through the Bay's strait into the Labrador Sea and the north Atlantic Ocean.

From there, cargo ships sail more quickly to Europe, and can reach Africa and South America, delivering goods ranging from food to critical minerals, and even – Canada's leaders hope – liquified natural gas (LNG).

For decades, ambitions of expanding the Port of Churchill have fallen short — derailed, locals argue, under years of poor management as experts openly questioned whether an Arctic port makes good economic sense. Canada is now hoping to change that, guided by the inevitability of climate change, the challenge of US tariffs, and Europe's energy shortage fuelled by ongoing global conflicts.

"Canada has an abundance of resources, and this port expansion will mean we can ship more to the world," Prime Minister Mark Carney said earlier this year.