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The Port of Churchill sits idle for most of the year, blanketed by snow and frozen by the bitter cold climate of Canada's sub-Arctic. It's only operational in the summer for four months, sometimes five.

But where weather is a hindrance, it has geography on its side - the northern Manitoba port sits on the Hudson Bay, a vast body of water with a direct route through the Bay's strait into the Labrador Sea and the north Atlantic Ocean.

From there, cargo ships sail more quickly to Europe, and can reach Africa and South America, delivering goods ranging from food to critical minerals, and even – Canada's leaders hope – liquified natural gas (LNG).

For decades, ambitions of expanding the Port of Churchill have fallen short — derailed, locals argue, under years of poor management as experts openly questioned whether an Arctic port makes good economic sense. Canada is now hoping to change that, guided by the inevitability of climate change, the challenge of US tariffs, and Europe's energy shortage fuelled by ongoing global conflicts.

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The port has already attracted some international support. Its operators signed an agreement earlier this year with the Port of Antwerp-Bruges in Belgium to collaborate on design, business development and future trade.

Spence, the mayor of Churchill, said the interest from Europe is a sign of the major geopolitical shifts that have been spurred by President Donald Trump's return to the White House.

The last year, Spence said, has also woken up Canada to start looking at the rest of the world.