Port of Contrecœur: a white elephant project for financial white sharks?

Montreal, January 13, 2026 – A study commissioned by SNAP Québec unveils economic, strategic, and environmental issues related to the Port of Montreal’s expansion project in Contrecœur. The analysis concludes that this mega-infrastructure project is likely to be underutilized, unprofitable, and a financial burden on Canadian taxpayers. This conclusion is based on evidence indicating that maritime traffic is shifting toward a fleet of ships that are too large to navigate to Contrecœur, the significant unused capacity of existing terminals, both in Montreal and among neighboring facilities on the East Coast, a downward trend in global maritime trade, the unpredictability of St. Lawrence River water levels due to climate change, and skyrocketing project construction costs.

A 1980s project confronted with today’s realities

The Port of Montreal expansion project was conceived and planned in the 1980s. Since then, logistical and strategic developments in maritime traffic have made it difficult for the Port of Montreal to compete with deep-water ports located mainly along ocean coasts.

“The Port of Montreal’s expansion project in Contrecœur is based on unrealistic projections of increased container traffic on the St. Lawrence River, projections that are contradicted by actual cargo traffic data. The Port of Montreal is banking on growth that is not materializing. There is still time to halt the construction of what is likely to be an underutilized infrastructure,” says Éric Pineault, professor in the Department of Sociology and the Institute of Environmental Sciences at UQAM and co-author of the study.

“The Contrecœur project is misguided, representing a costly strategic mistake for taxpayers and an irreversible blow to biodiversity: it is banking on uncertain growth in maritime traffic, which is being hit hard by current geopolitical instability and U.S. tariffs. The Port of Montreal, far from being saturated, is already missing its traffic targets and ignoring climate change, which is lowering the level of the St. Lawrence River and threatening the viability of a terminal that is already unable to accommodate 70% of the world’s fleet,” adds Henri Chevalier, a doctoral student at the University of Waterloo and co-author of the study.

The authors of the study present a series of recommendations calling for, among other things, a realignment of the Port of Montreal’s strategic positioning and an optimization of current port infrastructure.

The copper redhorse in court

It is now recognized that the Contrecœur port project will destroy part of the critical habitat of the Copper Redhorse, a species unique to Quebec, and that it will have dramatic impacts on the recovery and even the survival of the species.

“How can we justify blindly pouring so much public money into a project that is already shaping up to be unprofitable and destructive to our majestic St. Lawrence River, while circumventing our environmental laws? Are we still collectively trapped by the lure of another Northvolt project, another white elephant project financed by our governments for the benefit of a handful of financial white sharks?” asks Alain Branchaud, Executive Director of SNAP Quebec.

To protect the public and the environment, SNAP Québec will challenge the Port of Montreal’s expansion project in Contrecœur in Federal Court, a project that is harmful from an environmental, social, and economic standpoint.

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INFORMATION
Link to the report (in French only)

CONTACT
Ingrid Cornec
Strategic Communications Advisor & Graphic Designer
581 745-6423
communications@snapquebec.org