Ports and Marine Infrastructure Projects in Canada: Overview and Job Opportunities

Several of these projects have been referred to the federal Major Projects Office, which is designed to compress approval timelines and get shovels in the ground faster. For marine contractors and the professionals who work for them, that means more work, sooner. 

Below is our guide to the major ports and marine construction projects across Canada, categorized by preconstruction or project delivery phase. 

Interested in working on one of these projects? Get in touch. 

Table of Contents

Ports and marine projects in the preconstruction/procurement / proposed stage 

• Roberts Bank Terminal 2, Delta (Greater Vancouver), BC – $4bn+ PDB 
• GCT Deltaport Berth Four Expansion (DP4), Delta (Greater Vancouver), BC – $1bn–$1.6bn 
• Prince Rupert Second Container Terminal, Prince Rupert, BC – TBC 
• Port of Churchill Plus, Churchill, MB – Multi-billion (TBC) 
• Grays Bay Road and Port (GBRP), Kitikmeot Region, NU – ~$1bn 

Ports and marine projects in the construction stage 

• Contrecœur Container Terminal, Contrecœur, QC – $1bn+ 
• Belleville Terminal Redevelopment, Victoria, BC – $416m 
• Nanaimo Port – Duke Point Terminal Expansion, Vancouver Island, BC – $105m+ 
• CANXPORT (Ridley Island Export Logistics Project), Prince Rupert, BC – $750m 
• Trigon Pacific Terminals Second Berth, Prince Rupert, BC – $163m 
• Port of Trois-Rivières Docks 16 & 17, Trois-Rivières, QC – $312m 
• Port of Halifax Inter-Terminal Rail Solution, Halifax, NS – $105m 

Recently completed 

• Port Saint John West Side Modernization, Saint John, NB – $247m 

What This Means for Ports and Marine Construction Careers

In-Demand Ports and Marine Infrastructure Roles in Canada

How Outpost Recruitment Can Help

Projects in Preconstruction / Procurement / Proposed Stage

Roberts Bank Terminal 2, Delta (Greater Vancouver), BC – $4bn+ PDB

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority’s new three-berth container terminal at Roberts Bank will increase West Coast container capacity by more than 30%. Scope includes a new marine terminal on a constructed landmass, a 1,300-metre wharf, a widened causeway and roughly 320 acres of new waterfront industrial land. The project has its key environmental approvals and consent from 27 First Nations.

Preferred proponent selected July 2026. Design and early works agreement expected Q3 2026, with the design-build agreement targeted for Q1 2028 and terminal operations in the mid-2030s.

GCT Deltaport Berth Four Expansion (DP4), Delta (Greater Vancouver), BC – $1bn–$1.6bn 

Global Container Terminals’ privately funded alternative to RBT2. DP4 would add a fourth berth on the east side of the Roberts Bank Causeway, expand the intermodal rail yard along the causeway and include dredging for vessel access, adding up to 2 million TEUs of capacity in phases. 

Status: In federal/provincial impact assessment. GCT has submitted the project to the Major Projects Office. 

Prince Rupert Second Container Terminal, Prince Rupert, BC – TBC

DP World and the Prince Rupert Port Authority are assessing a second container terminal south of the existing Fairview Terminal. The port’s master plan identifies up to 2 million TEUs of new capacity, which would roughly double the container business at Canada’s third-busiest port.

Status: Feasibility stage under a two-year DP World / PRPA agreement. 

Port of Churchill Plus, Churchill, MB – Multi-billion (TBC)

Canada’s only deepwater Arctic port is back on the national agenda. Port of Churchill Plus is a vision to turn the port into a four-season, dual-use (civilian and military) gateway on Hudson Bay, anchored by Indigenous equity ownership through Arctic Gateway Group and a new Manitoba Crown-Indigenous Corporation. Potential scope includes port expansion, Hudson Bay Railway upgrades, an all-weather road to Churchill and a resource corridor for critical minerals, potash, agricultural products and energy. 

Manitoba has committed $51 million to Arctic Gateway Group for rail line capital improvements and a new critical minerals storage facility at the port.

Status: Listed on the Major Projects Office’s transformative strategies list in September 2025. Federal market sounding study launched February 2026, and a Canada–Manitoba co-operation agreement (“one project, one review”) signed April 2026. Defined projects and procurement still to come. 

Grays Bay Road and Port (GBRP), Kitikmeot Region, NU – ~$1bn

An Inuit-led project from West Kitikmeot Resources Corp. (owned by the Kitikmeot Inuit Association) to build a deepwater Arctic port at Grays Bay on Coronation Gulf, a ~230 km all-season road south to the former Jericho mine site, and an airstrip. The port is proposed with two wharves for post-Panamax vessels plus a small craft harbour for community use. 

GBRP would create the first road link from the central Arctic coast to southern Canada, opening the Slave Geological Province to critical mineral development and giving the Navy a northern deepwater foothold. It links to the NWT’s proposed Arctic Economic and Security Corridor. 

Status: Referred to the Major Projects Office on March 12, 2026. CanNor funding (April 2026) is helping the proponent select major construction partners sooner. Target operation around 2035. 

Projects in Construction Phase 

Contrecœur Container Terminal, Contrecœur, QC – $1bn+/h3>

The Montreal Port Authority’s new container terminal on the St. Lawrence, about 40 km northeast of Montreal, will add up to 1.15 million TEUs a year, raising the Port of Montreal’s capacity by around 60%. Scope includes a new wharf with two berths, an intermodal rail yard connected to CN, a truck gate, road access and operations buildings. It is the largest East Coast port expansion in Canadian history. 

Status: In-water works started October 2025. Official groundbreaking April 2026. Landside construction ramps up in 2027, with commercial operations targeted for 2030. 

Belleville Terminal Redevelopment, Victoria, BC – $416m

The Province is replacing the international ferry terminal in Victoria’s Inner Harbour with a new two-storey pre-clearance terminal and wharf that brings the Coho and Victoria Clipper services together and houses Canadian and U.S. border agencies. It brings the port into line with the Canada–U.S. preclearance agreement. Phase 1 (Steamship Wharf modifications and a temporary terminal) is complete.

Status: Phase 2 started June 2025 with demolition of the old Clipper building. Around 50% complete, with pilings and most foundations done and wharf and vertical works underway. On time and on budget for a late-2028 opening. 

Nanaimo Port – Duke Point Terminal Expansion, Vancouver Island, BC – $105m+

DP World is expanding Duke Point Terminal under a 50-year lease with the Port of Nanaimo, supported by Snuneymuxw First Nation. The berth is being extended from 182 metres to roughly 320 metres, the diesel quay crane replaced with two fully electric cranes, and the terminal grown to 28 acres with capacity of 280,000 TEUs, a tenfold increase on current volumes. A new pulp shed and upgraded facilities will support round-the-clock operations and more short-sea shipping to Vancouver.

Status:Construction started April 2025. Completion targeted for September 2027. 

CANXPORT (Ridley Island Export Logistics), Prince Rupert, BC – $750m 

A 108-acre greenfield export logistics hub on Ridley Island for rail-to-container transloading of agricultural, forestry and plastic resin products, with initial capacity of 400,000 TEUs. Scope includes expanding the Ridley Island Road Rail Utility Corridor to take 10,000-foot unit trains. Site development was awarded to an Indigenous joint venture of Metlakatla First Nation, Lax Kw’alaams Band, Gitxaała Nation and IDL Projects. 

Status:Phase 1 backed by a $150m CIB loan, with operations targeted for Q3 2026. Phase 2 (transload facility and container yard) to follow.

Trigon Pacific Terminals Second Berth, Prince Rupert, BC – $163m 

A second berth at Trigon’s Ridley Island export terminal to relieve congestion and diversify cargo beyond coal and propane into wood pellets, mineral concentrates and lower-carbon energy products. Transport Canada is contributing nearly $75m. 

Status:Under construction. Berth expected in service late 2026 / early 2027.

Port of Trois-Rivières Docks 16 & 17, Trois-Rivières, QC – $312m 

The largest project in the port’s history: reconstruction of Dock 17, filling of the basin and construction of a new Dock 16, plus a new G3 Canada grain terminal and road and rail upgrades. Partners include Alcoa and G3 Canada. Pomerleau is the contractor. 

Status:Construction started 2024. Marine works through 2026, with the grain terminal completing the program in 2027.

Port of Halifax Inter-Terminal Rail Solution, Halifax, NS – $105m

A program to optimize the CN-served railhead at the Port of Halifax and create a dedicated rail shuttle between PSA Halifax’s Atlantic Hub and Fairview Cove terminals, pulling container trucks out of downtown. Scope includes 14,000 feet of new track inside Atlantic Hub, a maintenance facility, a truck marshalling yard at Fairview Cove and a redesign of terminal buffer zones.

Status: In the final phase of works. Maintenance facility and truck marshalling yard complete; Atlantic Hub rail yard expansion underway. 

Recently Completed

Port Saint John West Side Modernization, Saint John, NB – $247m

A decade-long program delivering an enlarged berth, a deeper and wider navigation channel, an expanded container yard and upgraded intermodal rail at the DP World-operated West Side terminal. Further DP World investment is planned from 2026, and Americold is developing its first Canadian import-export hub at the port.

Status: Completed December 2025. 

What This Means for Ports and Marine Construction Careers

Marine construction is one of the most specialized corners of heavy civil. Dredging, quay walls, marine piling, landmass reclamation, caissons and crane rail can’t be learned on a building site. That’s exactly why experienced marine people are so hard to find. 

And demand is stacking up. Contrecœur is ramping into landside works in 2027. RBT2 moves from early works into a multi-year build from 2028. Prince Rupert has a pipeline of terminal and logistics work behind it. Churchill and Grays Bay could open a whole new frontier of remote Arctic construction in the 2030s.

So what does that mean for you? Long project lifecycles, a national pipeline that runs coast to coast to coast, and real bargaining power if you have marine experience on your resume. Remote Arctic and northern projects will also bring rotation schedules, camp work and

In-Demand Ports and Marine Infrastructure Roles in Canada

Project Management 

• Project Directors 
• Project Managers 
• Construction Managers 
• Package Managers (Marine / Landside) 
• Interface Managers 

Engineering and Design 

• Marine Engineers 
• Coastal Engineers 
• Geotechnical Engineers 
• Structural Engineers 
• Temporary Works Engineers 
• Design Managers 

Commercial and Contract Management 

• Commercial Managers 
• Contracts Managers (Progressive Design-Build / Target Price) 
• Estimators 
• Cost Controllers 
• Quantity Surveyors 
• Construction Operations
• Marine Superintendents 
• General Superintendents 
• Dredging Managers 
• Field Engineers 
• Project Controls / Schedulers 
• Quality Managers 

Environmental and Regulatory 

• Environmental Managers 
• Fisheries and Marine Habitat Specialists 
• Indigenous Relations Advisors 
• Regulatory Compliance Advisors 

With major projects across British Columbia, Quebec, Manitoba, Nunavut and Atlantic Canada, there are opportunities for both local and international marine construction professionals. If you’ve worked on port and harbour projects in the UK, Ireland, Australia, Europe or the Middle East, your experience translates directly. 

How Outpost Recruitment Can Help 

Outpost Recruitment is a leading talent agency that works with both local and international players in the construction sector. Our clients include general contractors, subcontractors and consulting firms (program management and engineering). 

Outpost Recruitment specializes in the recruitment of construction professionals across the following areas: 

• Executive Leadership 
• Operations 
• Project Management 
• Commercial Management 
• Design Management 
• Site Supervision 

Visit our Project Trackers for other sectors

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