Canada’s Port of Prince Rupert as a Successful National Gateway Strategy

In this paper we examine the Port of Prince Rupert as a case study of the Canadian Gateway strategy. We consider the effect of the Gateway strategy on the development of a container terminal at the Port of Prince Rupert, and Prince Rupert’s effect on discretionary cargo at west coast ports in North America. Canada’s Asia-Pacific Gateway Initiative was developed specifically to increase trade between Canada and the Asia-Pacific region. The initiative, coupled with a national freight transportation policy framework, commits investments to a long term plan for infrastructure. Through this integrative policy and public-private collaboration, the container terminal at the Port of Prince Rupert has grown and a new route for Asia-North America trade has developed. The port presents a novel concept for North American ports by locating outside of an existing urban center, and focusing on through, rather than local, traffic. However, through a logistical analysis of market sizes and likely importers, we demonstrate that the new container terminal at Prince Rupert will not likely cause a dramatic shift in cargo flows on the West Coast.