The package is the first major component of the broader Contrecœur program that includes two berths, a 675-m wharf and an intermodal yard linked to the Canadian National Railway. 

The Contrecœur expansion was first proposed in 2018, received federal environmental approval in 2021 and adopted in 2023 a progressive design-build delivery model that integrates detailed design and cost refinement as work advances. 

Work Begins on the St. Lawrence

The port authority confirmed site preparation began Oct. 9. Work crews are constructing access roads, installing temporary work platforms and site offices, and clearing trees along the St. Lawrence River’s south shore in Contrecœur, about 25 miles downstream from the existing port. 

Major dredging and quay-wall construction are set to start in 2026, with completion targeted for 2030.

Authority President and CEO Julie Gascon called the start of preparation “a milestone,” and in a statement added, “The Port of Montreal is growing to support trade, strengthen supply chains and ensure competitiveness in eastern Canada.”

The port is the largest container port in central and eastern Canada, handling all types of cargo. According to government officials, port activity supports about 590,000 jobs and generates more than $66 billion in economic output each year.

The terminal is designed to boost container capacity by about 60%, allowing the port to handle roughly 1.15 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEU) annually. It will link directly to rail and highway corridors to streamline freight movement.

The project was one of five the federal government identified for fast-tracking under the new Major Projects Office, which coordinates expedited reviews for strategic infrastructure. Officials estimate the terminal will generate up to 8,000 construction jobs and add about $100 million annually to the national economy.

Funding support includes $214 million from the Canada Infrastructure Bank and about $107 million from the Québec government, authorized in January. Those contributions, along with port equity and private debt, anchor the overall $1.2-billion financing plan.

Environmental Conditions and Engineering Outlook

The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada approved the project in 2021 under a decision statement imposing 330 environmental conditions, expanded to 387 this year through amendments. 

A map shows the location of the planned Contrecœur Port Terminal Expansion Project, approximately 40 km downstream from Montreal. The new terminal will be located near the communities of Contrecœur and Verchères, adjacent to existing marine and highway corridors, including Quebec Route 132 and the Canadian National Railway mainline. Image courtesy of Montreal Port Authority

Requirements include creating fish and bird habitats, restoring wetlands and monitoring the endangered copper redhorse fish population. Port officials say habitat and shoreline compensation programs are already underway, following public open houses held in August.

Environmental groups, including the Quebec Environmental Law Centre, have criticized federal approval, citing risks to wetlands and endangered species such as the copper redhorse. The group has signaled potential legal action over permitting tied to the project. 

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke also raised similar concerns during federal consultations, arguing the project could affect habitat along ancestral waterways.

In a 2019 submission cited by the nonprofit environmental news outlet The Narwhal, the council said “many of the impacts likely to flow from the Contrecœur project will add to existing impacts on water quality, wetlands, fish and fish habitats.”

Even as those concerns continue to circulate, the port authority and contractors say design and permitting work are advancing under close regulatory oversight, with field activity now focused on in-water preparations and site logistics.

The expansion will add deep-water berths and on-dock intermodal connections to Highway 30 and Canada National’s rail mainline, enabling the port to accommodate vessels up to about 75,000 deadweight tonnes. Aecon and Pomerleau engineers are designing around variable sediment conditions and ice-season constraints typical of this stretch of the St. Lawrence River.

While financial close removes a key hurdle, environmental oversight and the project’s marine-engineering complexity will remain under scrutiny as full construction begins. 

The port authority says the expansion “will strengthen Canada’s supply-chain resilience while contributing to economic growth and decarbonization through improved vessel and rail efficiency.”