Wab Kinew’s Hudson Bay Hustle: While Smith & Moe Are Silent, Carney Smiles

 Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew is swinging a sledgehammer at the Prairie status quo. His plan to transform the Port of Churchill into a powerhouse energy export terminal - shipping agriculture, critical minerals, and oil and natural gas to Europe - is a geopolitical thunderbolt. In April 2025, Kinew pitched Churchill to EU diplomats as a “global trade gateway,” and by May, he was pressing Prime Minister Mark Carney for a national energy corridor.

 Carney’s on board, proposing icebreakers to keep Hudson Bay navigable during the four months of heavy ice, while noting the six months of summer, late spring, and early fall are clear, and the two shoulder months pose little issue with weak ice. Modern double-hull tankers, needing just 45 feet of water, are a perfect fit for Hudson Bay’s 330-foot average depth. Kinew and Carney see Churchill as a counter to U.S. efforts to block Canadian energy from reaching tidewater, protecting American markets. Importantly, they also recognize the urgent need to build a proper road to Churchill, strengthen the existing rail line, and establish an improved telecommunications network to fully realize the port's potential. This project is vital to ensure Canada’s economic and strategic independence, especially in light of recurring threats of U.S. annexation and “51st state” rhetoric. Furthermore, the strategic location opens the possibility of developing an Air Force and Navy base, reinforcing Canada's northern presence and sovereignty.

 Alberta’s Danielle Smith, the pipeline preacher, is stone-cold silent. Smith’s UCP empire runs on grievance: Ottawa’s the enemy, pipelines are Alberta’s lifeblood, and she’s the crusader demanding “unfettered” oil corridors. Yet, when Kinew pushes Churchill as a Western energy hub, Smith’s got nothing - no praise, no pushback, not even a whisper. Why? Churchill’s success could dim Alberta’s oil-soaked spotlight. If Manitoba becomes an energy exporter, Smith’s “feds are landlocking us” mantra collapses, and her base might grill her over healthcare fiascos. Her silence is calculated: a Manitoba win douses the outrage fueling her separatist-tinged populism.

 Saskatchewan’s Scott Moe, the Hank Hill-sounding Propane Poet from King of the Hill, is playing a coy game of Sword and Shield with his party’s separatist losers. After his 2024 election win, Moe’s been teasing referendums to keep his Saskatchewan Party crown. In May 2025, he said he’d allow a vote on leaving Canada if 15% of voters petitioned, coyly refusing to reveal his stance. It’s a calculated dance to placate the secessionist fringe he needs to stay boss. Public chatter calls it spineless pandering to keep his base’s dreams alive. Like Smith, Moe’s ignoring Churchill, too busy coddling separatists to back a unifying energy project.

 Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s no better. Adding to the disconnect, Poilievre has abandoned his Ottawa suburb riding and is now running in a riding dominated by strong Alberta separatists. This move signals a strategy of fueling regional anger rather than seeking national solutions. Consequently, he and his culture-warrior base mention Churchill only in passing when pressed aggressively by reporters, too busy waging a fundraising-fueled crusade against so-called Laurentian elites. Poilievre’s playbook - vilifying central Canada’s establishment over pipeline rejections like Energy East - keeps party donor money flowing and flush and supporters in 24/7 election mode. Churchill’s potential doesn’t fit his divisive narrative, and public sentiment notes his focus on political point-scoring over a Prairie-led energy solution. This shift to a separatist-heavy riding ensures that Poilievre will remain tethered to the fringe issues of that movement. It seems Pierre Poilievre’s move to the separatist hinterland is a sign that he prefers perpetual outrage over pragmatic nation-building with Hudson Bay.

 Here’s the spark: Kinew and Carney could turn Churchill into a political earthquake. The Prairies have been a Conservative fortress, with Alberta and Saskatchewan bleeding Tory blue for decades. But Kinew, a First Nations NDP premier, and Carney, a Liberal PM leading a strong and stable minority government, have a shot to rewrite the map. Churchill promises jobs, Indigenous partnerships, and a hedge against U.S. trade pressures - issues that cut through Conservative rhetoric. The added infrastructure improvements, and military potential, adds additional layers of economic and national security benefits, crucially reinforcing Canada's sovereignty in the face of American expansionist sentiments. Many call Churchill a “game-changer” that could “smash the Conservative stranglehold” by offering Prairie voters a progressive, nation-building vision. If Kinew delivers, Manitoba’s NDP could siphon moderate Tories, while Carney’s Liberals gain ground in ridings like Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, and Regina.

Kinew’s not waiting for Smith, Moe, or Poilievre. He’s “repatriating” Canada, pitching Churchill as Canada’s Arctic gateway, and locking in global investors. Carney’s all-in, prioritizing Churchill. While Smith nurses grudges and referendums, Moe juggles his separatist sword and shield, and Poilievre picks fights with Laurentian elites from his new separatist base, Kinew and Carney are wielding that sledgehammer, betting on a Prairie future driven by innovation, and oil and natural gas, not just anger. If Churchill takes off, the Prairie Tory dynasty could crack, and Canada’s political map could shift for a generation nationally and in Manitoba