Montreal Port Authority’s Julie Gascon on Tariffs & Trade

Tony Munoz: Welcome to the Maritime Executives Podcast series in the Know. I’m Tony Munoz, editor in chief. Our Executive Corner podcast will provide conversations with top executives concerning events and issues that are shaping our industry today. We will also bring you up to speed with the latest news and editorials covered by the Maritime Executive.

It’s good to meet you. Um, Julie Scon. Right. Yes. That’s, is that how I say your name?

Julie Gascon: That is correct, yeah.

Tony Munoz: Okay. Um, tell us a little bit about yourself. Uh, today you are the director of the Montreal Port Authority, and, um, give us a little bit of background on you as a, um, maritime executive and, uh, port, uh, uh, working in the ports.

Julie Gascon: Yes, uh, with pleasure. So, uh, for me, I joined, uh, um, the Port of Montreal last year. So it’s about a year in the seat right now. Uh, I come from a maritime background, uh, over 30 years in the maritime industry. Uh, my background, I used to be, uh, at sea, uh, Seafarer Navigator in, uh, really did my captain stick it in 2005.

Yeah. So. Uh, captain at the helm of the port. Um, and so my arrival last year coincided with, with a lot of challenges, I would say, um, some of those challenges, of course includes, uh, labor conflicts. Uh, recently at the Port of Montreal, we, uh, were victim, if I could say, for, for, for, uh, for illustration purposes of over 7,400.

74 centimeters of snow, like all at once. So it was a lot of snow to deal with at the port and it impacted our fluidity for a little bit. Uh, but it also, um, I arrived at a time where Car TAF was a really, really hot file. We had to develop a port action plan that we’ve just launched recently, and, uh, it, I.

Would be, uh, remit to say that, um, what’s going on south of the border, the economy uncertainty, the arrivals of tariff is creating a lot of uncertainty all around the port of Montreal. So it’s become a really complex world. Um, but I can meet. I’ve met those challenges I would see with the strength and the resiliency of the team at the Port of Montreal, people that are dedicated, uh, on working on those issues and ensuring that the Port of Montreal remains resilience and fluid alongside, of course, our port partners, which are the terminals.

Um, we’re a platform that gives access to over 1 billion consumers that are covered by Canada’s free trade agreement with the various countries. Uh, we have a. Complex ecosystem at the port of Montreal. We have seen a little bit of a dip, if you wish, on the container side, but our grain is, is growing our bulk sector.

Liquid sector is also growing, so it is offsetting a little bit if you wish of the container dip. Um. And, uh, and of course, uh, I’m coming at the helm of the port, uh, with a strong team to plan and execute, uh, the, uh, expansion of the Port of Montreal in Kar. This is a generational project. It’s a, it’s a massive project that we are undertaken and we are well advanced.

I would say we are in the last mile of the planning before we can, we can put shovel in the ground. This project was needed before the arrival of, of, uh, of the new administration south of the border and the tariff. Mm-hmm. Um, for the growth of Quebec, for the growth of Ontario and the growth of Canada.

But now, I would say more than ever, uh, this project is needed to help Canada in their, um, diversification effort. It’s a. Pillar of the strategy of Canada in response to the tariff. Mm-hmm. And ports are the cornerstone of the diversification efforts.

Tony Munoz: So, so you’ve been at the port for a year and you’ve taken Yeah.

You’ve taken on the agenda of, uh, the viability of your port. Um, you’re on the St. Lawrence Seaway, correct?

Julie Gascon: Yeah, that’s correct.

Tony Munoz: And you’re the second largest port in Canada?

Julie Gascon: Yeah.

Tony Munoz: Would Vancouver be the largest?

Julie Gascon: So Vancouver is the largest port in Canada in terms of container handling, right? Of course. They are the largest port.

We handle approximately 35 million tons, uh, of container, uh, goods and cargo at the port of Montreal. Um. It’s about $40 billion worth of merchandise, the transits. And we are, um, involved with over 140 countries. Uh, so the Port of Vancouver does more of course in terms of it’s a larger port than the port of Montreal.

Actually, the second port in volume is the port of Il with. The, uh, iron bullet. Uh, and so we’re very proud of them down there as well. Uh, so we have strong capacity. The St. Lawrence has, uh, has strong capacity. We have both private and, uh, federal ports, uh, alongside the river and as well in the Great Lakes.

So we have a lot of, of, of capacity. Um. Expanding the port will, will do a few things. It will strengthen our ability to serve as a hub for international trades, that’s for sure. So if you think right now, um, in Canada, 70% or 80% of our expert goes to the us, right? Right. Now, if you take Canadian company and they diversify slightly.

Four to 6% their market towards Europe, Africa, Southeast Asia. We would be full very, very quickly. The entire mindset, if you wish, bulk of our investments have always been this north, south corridor. We had a really good partner in, in, in, in the us. That relationship has changed and now we need to look.

Towards our ocean internally. Internal trade barriers, right? You’ve heard that’s the second pillar. So important, but also diversifying through maritime. Now you can’t send train or trucks over ocean. So you gotta do it by water. Right. You have to do it by water. Correct. And so investing. Exactly. Investing in our port infrastructure is not just a question of should we do it?

It’s a question of survival. Right now for Canada, we need to invest and we need to think differently. We are bordered, sir by three ocean. It’s about time that Canada assumes itself as a maritime nation. Don’t you think?

Tony Munoz: I think so, I think, uh, I’ve always considered, uh, Canada to be a very viable, um, um, maritime, um, international trading partner, not only with the United States, but with other countries throughout the world.

You know, um, when you look at, when you look at, um, your port, you have the largest, uh, population of Canadians that you serve, correct.

Julie Gascon: Absolutely. So if you take the Port of Montreal, we are at the center of the third largest economy in the world. A lot of people don’t notice, but if you take Quebec, Ontario, and all the Great Lake States mm-hmm.

And you put them all together as the third largest economy in the world, and the Port of Montreal is. The gateway for 65% of the Canadian population, which is Quebec and Ontario. And the other thing that people don’t know is that 75% of the manufacturing capacity of Canada is within 12 to 72 hours of the port of Montreal.

So we are the, the one of the strongest gateway to bring goods to market. The greenest and the fastest way when you are able to bring a ship all the way down, uh, to, to the port of, I should say up river, but all the way to Montreal. Um. You are then reducing your overall cost of shipping ’cause you’re so close to market.

So we need to be fluid, we need to be resilient, we need to be, um, safe and secure and available. That’s what maritime shipping, uh, lines are looking for. Absolutely. To be able to service those market. But. You also need to think for the future, like the Port of Montreal will reach its capacity. We’re facing a dip.

Like people will say, well, why do you need contract car? Your volumes are down. Yeah, the volumes are down to 1.5 million TU in 2024, and there is a possibility with consumer confidence maybe being shaken. By what’s happening, uh, politically around the world. There is a potential and, and I’m, I’m not telling you anything new, that we will enter a recession and it, and it will dip again.

And the port is very linked to that. But as we are. You know, putting our strategy together as we are diversifying our market, as we are making agreement with other country and looking elsewhere, it will go back up and we need to be able to service that demand when that demand is gonna come. I. I didn’t come and took the job at the port of Montreal ’cause it was going to be easy.

I know it’s tough doing a generational project like car in Canada, right. With construction cus and everything is tough. So I could have gone and retired and not my, not my cup of tea. The team at the Port of Montreal is building the infrastructure for generations to come. But guess what? It’s not the infrastructure that we need to diversify our market and respond to the threat that has now come from our closest that we had for centuries.

So,

Tony Munoz: yeah, I, we need that. It is a tough one, and I, I, I, you know, I think you’ve been thrown a big curve ball, um, because the relationships have been so strong, so. For so very long. And, uh, suddenly here you are dealing with a, a very complex situation as you, you know, uh, look at your expansion and your growth and you serving your huge population.

Um, so this is your first year at the port?

Julie Gascon: Yeah, this is my first year, but it’s, um, it was like coming into, uh, uh, like a comfortable, uh. Outfit. I don’t know how I can express it. I was the assistant commissioner for Canadian Coast Guard here in Montreal. I knew, uh, one of my predecessors, which I worked very closely when I was the, uh, the assistant commissioner.

I know the port from a regulator’s perspective as I was in, in Transport Canada, but I also know big infrastructure. Project, uh, in my previous role as CEO of the Passage Authority out West and the coming in online of Transmountain, which of course pilot service tankers calling into Transmountain. So all my life I’ve been in this world and, um, coming back to the Port of Montreal at this time as such an honor and a privilege, um, we are in a trade war, um, and.

Being at the helm of an infrastructure that is part of the solution for Canadians. It’s so humbling. But at the same time, so challenging. Like, we can’t fail. We just can’t fail. Yeah. And so that’s, that’s where I’m focusing. Yeah. It’s been only one year, but uh, it feels like 10 or maybe 20.

Tony Munoz: But, but, but your season Mariner.

Uh, you, you said that you were in the Coast Guard, so you understand, um, you understand ships and you understand the complexity of, uh, cargo and, um, those sorts of things. Um, so what are some of your priorities for growth for the port?

Julie Gascon: So, um, it’s, it’s going to be in the last questions there, Mr. Roso. I’ll, I’ll have time to for this one.

Okay. And another one. Okay. And my apologies because I was late. So, in terms of the priorities for the Port of Montreal, so my predecessor did develop a strategic plan mm-hmm. Which has some really important asset. Like for example, the environment is at the heart of everything we do. Sure. We do it in, in, but for me, what’s important is contract car.

Building the infrastructure and the resilience. What is important to me is the volume. I hate to see volume going to US ports if we can’t respond. Yes. We have other ports on the east coast of Canada that can take some of the volume. Mm-hmm. But Montreal is unique. We have a model, we are called a destination port, so.

We have fully loaded trains coming in, fully loaded trains going back, the ships comes in fully loaded, they unload completely and reload completely. This is unique in North America. Mm-hmm. And so we, we’ve got a proposition that is unique, but we’ve lost some of our volume because of the uncertainty related to labor.

We, because of some of the, of the, uh, of the tough years that we went through with three strike in, in four years. Right. So. The shipping lines don’t like uncertainty. When the ship comes in, they wanna know their ship’s not gonna wait. It’s gonna be a floated, it’s gonna be reloaded, it’s gonna be on its way.

And so we need to recapture those volume because when the volumes go as elsewhere, let’s say for example, goes through the US to come back to Canada. Mm-hmm. It’s the Canadian consumers that pays more, right? Yes, absolutely. And so the. So the closest you can bring your cargo to market and your own market is the best for the, for the, for the, for the Canadian consumers.

So yeah, one year, one year off challenge. My big priority is contract car, bringing back the volume. That’s really key. It’s at the top of my mind ensuring that we have. The financial resiliency. So the Port of Montreal is a small entity. We’re like 250, 270 employees, right? We’re small. We, we have a small revenue stream.

Because we are a federal institution, we are custodian on behalf of the government of the land. But for example, if I go and borrow money at the bank, I can put my land, the, the land in guarantee doesn’t belong to the port, Montreal. It belongs to the Crown. Wow. And so the only thing I have is the liquidity that I generate through my revenue.

So I need to be very. With all my team there, all the team at the Port of Montreal, very, very focused on our strategy, the land new strategy. We have 26 kilometer of port that follows the river. A lot of tenants, a lot of leases. So we need to make sure that that, that we have the proper, the proper revenue stream.

It’s a business as well. The Port of Montreal. We have to be able to stand on our own two feet for our investment and it’s an investing in our people. Yes. So that’s the other big priority. Uh, we, as you know, we, we lost, we lost on the, on the port of Montreal. Two, two truckers, um, last year, um, through accident.

An accident, two different accident. This, uh, to me, uh, investing in our people. They’re not my employee, but they were operating. On the port territory, which I manage. So safety, security, mental health, investing in our people, and investing in training and uh, and, uh, ensuring that those who are visiting the Port of Montreal are safe and secure.

So that to me is really important. So, and of course, supporting law enforcement for CAR T theft, like we need, this is a. Organized crime. We launched our plan this week. Uh, it’s done in full collaboration with CBSA and with all of the various police scores surrounding the port of Montreal Provincial, federal, and municipal.

And then, so we wanna be part of that solution with them.

Tony Munoz: So, so what is the, uh, ship volume through, through the port? How many ships do you handle, uh, per year?

Julie Gascon: Well, we handle, uh, a lot. We handle, uh, trucks is 25, a hundred per day. Ships per day are, uh, yeah, so 2,500, uh, truck per day. In terms of the number of ships per year, um, I.

It’s quite a few. Like it’s, uh, I, I can’t get the number to you. Uh, I don’t have that at the top, but I know that the St.

Tony Munoz: Lawrence Seaway is a big gateway, and I know international trade is, uh, huge through the, uh, St. Lawrence Seaway. We, we have done business with, uh, the St. Lawrence Seaway authority for many years.

And, uh, yeah, they’ve been a good partner to us. So, um, yeah, I would just, uh, I was just thinking because you have over 35 million tons of cargo across your dock. That’s huge. That’s massive. Yeah.

Julie Gascon: So. The, the way I I look at it is in terms of services, we have nine services and those services as many shipper services that I don’t have the right number of vessels.

Sorry, I’ve, I’m drawing a blank, but I can send it to you for sure.

Tony Munoz: Sure,

Julie Gascon: yeah. And, and,

Tony Munoz: uh, are you going to invest in, um, in, in bulk terminals or you wanna invest in, in We’re invest terminals.

Julie Gascon: Always in awe. The Port of Montreal Strengthen. It’s in diver it’s, it’s in its diversity. We are a bulk terminal, liquid and dry.

We are a container terminal. We are a terminal that can cater to everything. Gotcha. Um, so we even have containerized grain like. Very high quality soybean and lentil and like we, and we have sugar with lan and we’ve got, uh, Vale Hole, which does the navet between Montreal and Quebec for crude. We’re also working on a, on a project for jet fuel, both for p TR and for Pearson.

So yeah, Montreal, that’s our strength just because we are diversified that we can shoulder the hard time that are to come.

Tony Munoz: I, I, I think I know everyone’s very concern, concerned about these tariffs and, um, the problems that they may create. Uh, uh, what is your, what is your take on, um, the, this, this uncertainty?

Um,

Julie Gascon: so maybe I will close with that, Mr. Munoz, because unfortunately I have a commitment that I’m late for, but Sure. Listen, no problem. The, the tariff will impact at all level, um, whether it is, uh, you know, in terms of the, the, the tax on certain goods and product that will have a hard time now across the border or what it will cost us to buy whatever goods that we need to buy.

Right? Um, and, and so that’s going to be it. It’s going have an impact. Fortunately, the Port of Montreal, right now we are really servicing the, the Quebec and Ontario market as well as the prairies. This is our main market, so the goods that are coming in are for those market, but we also have a lot of input parts.

Like for example, you’re building a car, you get a container of chips that come from wherever and then goes to Ontario. So if the car manufacturing. Uh, slows down some pieces that are coming from the Port of Montreal that are required in the construction of that automobile may not be required anymore.

So there, it’s everything that’s going to be impacted. The best way for us to explain it to uh, people is that. For decades, the Port of Montreal’s volume has followed the curve of the Quebec and Ontario GDP. So if it goes down, we go down. If it goes up, we go back up. This is the best way to see it. Because of the diversity of our, of our goods.

Any sector that is impacted will impact on the volumes of the Port of Montreal. Yeah, but I think it would be the same for any diversified port. Like if I look at question colleagues about it, diversified

Tony Munoz: port.

Julie Gascon: So, so thank you Mr. Munoz. Yeah,

Tony Munoz: my pleasure. And thank you for your time and um, and um, my apologies for the wish.

We wish you well. We wish you well. Thank you. Thank

Julie Gascon: you so much. Thanks.

Tony Munoz: Our pleasure. Goodbye.

Julie Gascon: Bye bye-Bye.

Source: https://maritime-executive.com/podcast/in-the-know-66-montreal-port-authority-s-julie-gascon-on-tariffs-trade