British Columbia has been trying to become a "Pacific Gateway" for decades. The problem: we're one province, with limited ports, facing the largest ocean on Earth.
With Oregon and Hawaii, the game changes.
Current Port Infrastructure:
British Columbia:
- Port of Vancouver — Canada's largest port, 3rd largest in North America
- Prince Rupert — Growing container terminal, closest North American port to Asia
- Victoria/Nanaimo — Smaller but strategic
- Strengths: Established infrastructure, rail connections to North American interior
- Challenges: Congestion, limited expansion room, labor disputes
Oregon:
- Port of Portland — Significant but underutilized
- Coos Bay — Potential for expansion
- Strengths: Room to grow, rail connections
- Challenges: Aging infrastructure, smaller scale than competitors
Hawaii:
- Honolulu Harbor — Primary port
- Pearl Harbor — Military (complicated)
- Strengths: Pacific mid-point location, transshipment potential
- Challenges: Distance from markets, high costs, Jones Act limitations
The Strategic Vision:
Hawaii as Mid-Pacific Hub:
Look at a map. Hawaii sits almost exactly between North America and Asia. It's also on routes to Australia, New Zealand, and South Pacific islands.
Currently, Hawaii is a destination — goods come TO Hawaii for consumption.
What if Hawaii became a transshipment hub? Goods transferred between vessels, processed, value-added, then forwarded?
The Jones Act (requiring US-flagged ships between US ports) currently makes this complicated. As a Canadian province, Hawaii would be exempt.
This could be transformative.
The Supply Chain Corridor:
Asia → Hawaii → Oregon → BC → North American Interior
Or reverse:
North American Interior → BC → Oregon → Hawaii → Pacific Markets
Multiple ports, multiple routes, resilience against disruption.
When one port faces congestion, labor issues, or natural disaster — traffic redirects.
What We Ship:
| Export | Origin |
| Lumber/forest products | BC, Oregon |
| Agricultural products | All three |
| Manufactured goods | BC, Oregon |
| Seafood | All three |
| Cannabis (eventually) | BC, Oregon |
| Import | Destination |
| Consumer goods | All three |
| Electronics | All three |
| Vehicles | BC, Oregon |
| Industrial equipment | BC, Oregon |
Infrastructure Investment Needs:
- Prince Rupert expansion — More capacity for Asia trade
- Coos Bay development — Oregon's deep-water potential
- Honolulu modernization — Transshipment capability
- Rail connections — Prince Rupert to interior, Portland to markets
- Green shipping infrastructure — Shore power, clean fuel bunkering
This requires billions in investment. But the return — becoming THE Pacific gateway for North America — justifies it.
The Climate Shipping Question:
Shipping is a significant carbon emitter. The Pacific is vast. Every ship burns a lot of fuel.
Partnership opportunity:
- Joint investment in green shipping technology
- Shore power at all ports (ships don't idle on diesel)
- Preference for cleaner vessels
- Carbon pricing on shipping emissions
- Research into alternative fuels (hydrogen, ammonia, sail-assist)
If we're going to move goods across the Pacific, we should do it as cleanly as possible.
Discussion Questions:
- How do we coordinate port development without redundant competition between regions?
- Should Hawaii's exemption from the Jones Act be a primary selling point?
- What goods should we prioritize for Pacific trade?
- How do we address the environmental impact of increased shipping?
- Labor relations: How do we ensure port workers benefit from expansion?