Community Services Minister David Akeeagok raised the Qikiqtarjuaq deep-sea port, along with other nation-building projects in Nunavut, with federal Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson on Aug. 29, Akeeagok told a press conference.
The GN wants the federal government to build four major infrastructure projects in Nunavut as part of the One Canadian Economy Act, which has promised to fast-track large-scale investments across the country.
Qikiqtarjuaq is on the east coast of Baffin Island, along the Davis Straight that separates Nunavut from Greenland.
"We do have a fishing industry that Nunavut owns, but none of them (the ships) land in Nunavut. This will allow for Nunavummiut to land their own fish(ing ships) and be able to ship to the markets of their choice," Akeeagok said.
Speaking for the federal government, Thompson, who was in Iqaluit for the Canadian Council of Fisheries and Aquaculture Ministers annual meeting, called the Qikiqtarjuaq deep-sea port a "generational opportunity."
But she also stressed the need for cooperation with Indigenous partners and the need to maintain regulatory reviews, even with what she called Prime Minister Mark Carney's government's mandate to build more, faster.
While Thompson emphasized "cooperation," Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI) used the term "co-developer" in an Aug. 27 press release, when it offered conditional support for the deep-sea port.
Thompson offered optimism on the project without committing to fully backing it.
"We need to have access from all regions in the country, part of growing this country is expanding our productivity, and is creating more points of entry," the federal minister said.
On Aug. 27, NTI listed the Qikiqtarjuaq deep-sea port, the Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link with Manitoba, an Iqaluit hydro project and the Grays Bay road and port as major projects it wants funded under the federal government's major infrastructure investment.
Thompson and Akeeagok both referenced geopolitical issues and historic factors as reasons to invest further in Canada's trade capabilities.
When asked about tariffs from the U.S. impacting Nunavut's fisheries, Akeeagok said tariffs from China are an even greater concern as they represent a bigger export market for the territory's fishing industry.
"The majority of our business is with Asian countries. China has put a 25 per cent tariff on our fisheries, on our shrimp," Akeeagok said.
On March 8, China imposed a 25 per cent tariff on 49 Canadian seafood products, including crab, shrimp, prawn, clams, lobster, sea cucumber, geoduck and halibut.
Nunavut's shrimp harvest was worth over $90 million in 2023.
