Issue/Source: Expanding Canada Border Services Agency Services at Ports along the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway
Location: Ontario and Quebec
Date: February 2026
Suggested Responses
- Transport Canada recognizes the potential of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway to support rising trade volumes and is working with the Canada Border Services Agency to expand their service offerings to support the Government's trade diversification agenda.
- The Government's investments in the Canada Border Services Agency will focus on expanding services at ports that align with trade priorities, are supported by strong economic drivers, and deliver the greatest benefits to Canadians.
- The Government of Canada is considering requests from ports along the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence for new border services.
If Pressed
- The Government of Canada has already begun investing in the region through the Port of Montreal's Contrecoeur Container Terminal project, which will increase its handling capacity by about 60%.
Background Information
Transport Canada (TC) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) have a shared role in supporting trade, supply chain fluidity and national security. TC is responsible for managing transportation infrastructure funding programs by examining the economics and public risks and benefits for projects within the national transportation system. CBSA is mandated to provide integrated border services which include the administration of Acts, regulations and international agreements, often on behalf of other federal departments and agencies, the provinces and territories.
Budget 2025 included a number of new supports for trade and transportation infrastructure projects. It also directed the CBSA to work with Public Safety Canada, TC and Global Affairs Canada to identify additional ports for container import and export designation, particularly in the Great Lakes-St Lawrence Region, like Québec City and Hamilton, as a way to help attract private investment at ports and diversify trade.
In September 2025, the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative (made up of municipal governments representing communities along the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway (GLSLS)) wrote to the Ministers of Transport, Public Safety and Industry advocating for additional CBSA services at Ports across the area to increase the flow of containerized traffic.
In October 2025, Aviseo Consulting, at the request of the Chamber of Marine Commerce, produced a report on the net economic benefits of expanding marine container reception and inspection services by the CBSA across six ports located along the GLSLS (Québec, Valleyfield, Picton, Hamilton, Goderich and Windsor). While the report found that CBSA services would improve Canada's ability to increase trade and yield economic benefits, there are, however limitations. The study does not include information on expected new commodity flows nor does it provide costing or the methodology used to define the economic benefits; and, most importantly, Aviseo did not have access to Government of Canada cost requirements for infrastructure, labour or ongoing costs, to implement the proposed services.
In considering the provision of additional CBSA services at ports along the GLSLS, the Government of Canada will prioritize projects that are backed by strong economic drivers and that offer the most public benefits. Currently, Canada’s two largest ports, the Ports of Vancouver and Montreal, are seeking federal support to advance major infrastructure projects which aim to increase the ports’ container handling capacity. The projects, Roberts Bank Terminal 2 and the Contrecoeur Container Terminal Project, will require additional CBSA services to support the increase in handling capacity and future trade growth. These nation-building projects should be prioritized as they offer greater public benefits and support trade diversification. Moreover, containerized trade already represents a greater proportion of total marine traffic at these ports, approximately 16% and 36% respectively.