CN-served phosphate, fertilizer terminal coming to Ontario port 

By Jeff Stagl, Managing Editor 

Phosphorus is essential to the health and success of each crop grown in Canada, but the nation doesn't produce any phosphate fertilizers. 

Canada annually imports more than 2 million tons of commercial phosphate products, about 60% of which is transported from the United States. 

A project developed by agricultural company V6 Agronomy Inc, that's underway at the Port of Johnstown in Ontario targets Canada's phosphate and fertilizer needs along a key import corridor. It also incorporates rail — specifically, service from CN — as a vital transporter for phosphate and fertilizer distribution. 

V6 Agronomy is constructing a fertilizer terminal at the port along the St. Lawrence Seaway. The Odyssey Terminal will handle products moved by vessels, rail and trucks, with the aim of coordinating movements according to clear and transparent standards, V6 Agronomy officials say. 

To be completed by year's end, the first phase of the terminal involves the construction of a 20,000-ton fertilizer storage building that can accommodate a full bulk carrier vessel. The second phase calls for adding 50,000 tons of storage capacity to accommodate the loading of rail cars in winter and the third phase involves building a potash export facility to be used by various fertilizer constituents. 

The second phase is scheduled for completion in late 2027 or early 2028 and the third phase is projected to be finished in 2029. 

When completed, the Odyssey Terminal will feature the infrastructure needed to load 14 rail cars per day to transport fertilizer to western Canada and load trucks for local deliveries. 

The terminal will support the movement of fertilizers to western Canada, where 85% of annual phosphate imports are consumed. The goal: to reduce Canada's reliance on foreign fertilizer supply chains and bolster local agricultural infrastructure. Fertilizer is one of a farm's highest input costs and the corridor through the port is designed to lower landed phosphate costs for Canadian growers. 

Ocean vessels will discharge phosphate and fertilizers at the port and the products will move inland by rail to discharge points across the Canadian Prairies. 

"The port has not handled fertilizer in many years, but the Odyssey Terminal represents a significant expansion in both capacity and the port's role in Canada's fertilizer supply chain," said Port of Johnstown General Manager Leslie Drynan in an email.  

An important part of V6 Agronomy's model is that the rail corridor works in both directions, so rather than having rail cars return east to the port empty, they will carry Canadian grain back to Johnstown for export through the seaway, he said. 

"From the port's perspective, the significance of the project is that it makes use of our existing marine, rail and highway infrastructure to establish another Canadian-controlled route for a critical agricultural input while also creating an opportunity to move Canadian grain east for export," said Drynan. 

The first vessel associated with the corridor unloaded phosphate at the port in late 2025 to demonstrate the marine discharge and rail connection aspects of the project under operating conditions.  

At full build, the corridor is designed to handle 400,000 tons a year, or nearly 20% of Canada's annual phosphate demand. Some of the phosphates and fertilizers will remain in eastern Ontario to support agricultural retailers serving more than 1,400 farms within the port's service area, said Drynan. 

In addition to its project at the Port of Johnstown, V6 Agronomy operates a distribution hub in Wilcox, Saskatchewan. CN will serve the Odyssey Terminal via a Canadian Rail Equipment Works & Services Inc. (CREWS) facility at the port, said V6 Agronomy CEO Ryan Brophy in an email. A CN "Top Tier Partner," CREWS offers various services to industrial customers that use rail to transport and receive raw goods and/or finished products. 

"The CREWS facility provides our terminal with seven-day switching, car cleaning, storage and staging services," said Brophy. 

V6 Agronomy also operates CPKC track assets in Rouleau, Saskatchewan, and Chesterville, Ontario. 

"Any equipment that will go to our Rouleau track will be handed off to CPKC by CN at Regina or Paddington, " said Brophy. 

All other transload locations in Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Saskatchewan will remain directly served by CN, he said.