The tiny town of Churchill has two of Canada’s largest pieces of Arctic infrastructure, but years of neglect have left them in poor shape amid growing superpower rivalry in the region.
It has northern Canada’s only railway to the populated south, the only Arctic deepwater port and a runway capable of handling some of the world’s largest military and commercial aircraft, a legacy of the town’s Cold War past.
Now, as the world’s superpowers flex their muscles in a warming Arctic, the tiny town of Churchill, on Hudson Bay’s western shore, seems poised to play an outsize role as Canada prepares to move aggressively into one of the newest global arenas.
“Canada is looking to secure its Arctic sovereignty, and we can fill that role naturally,” said the town’s mayor, Mike Spence. “We’ve got the infrastructure here — I mean, at least you’ve got that foundation.”
