(Saint-Lambert) Shippers plying the St. Lawrence Seaway see essential minerals for electric vehicle batteries as key to their future, but it could be some time before the floodgates open for these resources that are still largely untapped in Canada.

Until then, grain and iron ore remain predominant, accounting for nearly half of the 36.3 million tonnes of cargo that passed through the sea last year.

St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation president and CEO Terence Bowles said Wednesday he expects an additional million tonnes of Canadian grain to come down the St. Lawrence River from Thunder Bay and other Ontario ports in 2023.

Chamber of Maritime Commerce President Bruce Burrows stressed that the war in Ukraine will likely prolong the rise in demand for this crop as well as potash, while iron ore trafficking will resume as automakers “will get back on their feet”.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Seaway’s shipping season on Wednesday, Bowles said Canada is “in its infancy” when it comes to cobalt development. and lithium for electric car batteries — minerals he says will play a crucial role in establishing the seaway as a “green corridor.”

Less than a week before the federal government unveils its latest budget and on the eve of US President Joe Biden’s visit to Canada, the Chamber of Maritime Commerce is calling on Ottawa to follow the US lead in major funding for transport infrastructure.