Manitoba premier touts Churchill as Canada's 'only hope' should Trump move to acquire Greenland
CBC
Beyond its value as a strategic economic asset, Canada's only deepwater Arctic port may also prove crucial to Canadian sovereignty should U.S. President Donald Trump follow through on his rhetoric to take control of Greenland.
That's according to Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, who has in recent months been pushing for more investment from Ottawa in expanding the Port of Churchill amid Trump's tariffs.
"What is our only hope if this Greenland stuff continues? Churchill. So, we're leaning into Churchill hard," Kinew told reporters at an unrelated news conference Monday in Winnipeg, about 1,000 kilometres south of Churchill.
"Canada has a lot of great plans for the future, but there's only one port and one rail line that feeds the Arctic, and that would be absolutely essential for us to maintain sovereignty."
Kinew's comments come on the heels of threats by Trump to impose tariffs on on European countries that attempt to impede his efforts to buy and control Greenland.
Federal Northern and Arctic Affairs Minister Rebecca Chartrand agrees Churchill's location may be critical should international tensions over Greenland escalate.
"Strategically, it can be the supply chain that's needed to move goods to the North, whether that's for military, whether that's for civilians, whether that's for businesses," Chartrand said at an unrelated news conference in Winnipeg on Monday.
"I think strategically Churchill … is the gateway to the North."
Members of the Royal Canadian Air Force are presently taking part in a preplanned NORAD exercise in Greenland, but CBC News also learned this weekend that Prime Minister Mark Carney is weighing whether to send more forces to take part in sovereignty exercises planned by Denmark.
On Monday morning, Trump told NBC News he was "100 per cent" committed to levying a 10 per cent tariff against Britain, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Norway and Sweden should they continue to oppose U.S. control of Greenland.
Trump's tariff threats came after those eight EU members last week sent small contingents of military personnel to Greenland, of the semiautonomous territory of Denmark.
In 1951, the U.S. and Denmark signed an agreement that permits the Americans to construct military bases in Greenland and freely move around the island so long as Greenland and Denmark are informed.
Tensions ratcheted up again after conversations between Danish officials and the Trump administration failed to quell fears.
During the interview with NBC on Monday, Trump said "no comment" when asked if his government would take Greenland by force. Last week, his press secretary Karoline Leavitt told media that "utilizing the U.S. military is always an option at the commander-in-chief's disposal."
A young man who was the catalyst for a police investigation into accused sexual predators Tony Humby and Bruce Escott has died.
Faculty, academic librarians and counsellors represented by the Laurentian University Faculty Association (LUFA) in Sudbury, Ont. are on strike.
More than 100,000 homes and businesses in Nova Scotia have lost power as a winter storm brings wet and heavy snow to the province.
The Supreme Court of Canada is hearing arguments today on a Quebec case that could have far-reaching implications on policing across Canada.
With the steady surge in the price of gold, more customers are lining up to sell off or invest in the precious metal at some Winnipeg retailers, as those businesses are also wrestling with alternatives to make the karats more attainable.
Recent incidents involving security guards in Saskatchewan have raised wider questions about how they're trained to handle conflict.
Weather conditions on P.E.I. have prompted delays and closures across the province Monday.
Officials say an injured firefighter was taken to hospital after battling an “accidental” fire that started in a kitchen in a home in Windsor, Ont.
Salome Solomon, who is legally blind, relies on two things to get around Ottawa: her guide dog, Zurich, and Uber.
Thunder Bay, Ont., police chief Darcy Fleury says the proposed police budget for 2026 is not a “wish list” for the service.
Sexual assault survivor calls for accountability after police comments left her feeling ‘humiliated’
An Ontario woman who regularly shared her experiences as a sexual assault survivor at police training courses says she’s ending her relationship with the Ontario Police College and is raising concerns about what she and several experts say are harmful biases among some officers and a lack of accountability from the college.
Provincial officials will meet with St. Mary’s town council on Monday, after high winds tore the side of an abandoned fish sauce plant — but the town’s mayor is also calling on the federal government for help.
Get those snow shovels ready.