Canadian National Railway has struck a deal with the mining giant BHP to haul potash from the massive Jansen mine in Saskatchewan to export terminals on Canada’s West Coast, positioning the rail carrier at the centre of one of the most ambitious resource projects in the country’s recent history.
The agreement, announced in June 2026, will see CN use its sprawling, nearly 20,000-mile rail network to shuttle potash from the Prairies to Westshore Terminals in Vancouver, from where it will be shipped to buyers across Asia and Latin America. The arrangement covers the initial phase of production at Jansen, a mine that BHP has described as one of the largest new potash developments in the world and that officials in Saskatchewan have called one of the largest infrastructure investments in the province’s history.
For CN, the deal is as much about logistics as it is about strategy. Potash, which is a key ingredient in fertilizers used to boost crop yields, has become an increasingly valuable export for Canada as global food security concerns intensify and demand for agricultural inputs grows in developing markets. By locking in a transportation role for Jansen’s output, CN cements its position as a critical link between one of the world’s richest potash deposits and the ports that connect it to buyers overseas.
Janet Drysdale, CN’s executive vice-president and chief commercial officer, framed the partnership as central to North America’s agricultural future.
“Jansen is the most significant investment in Saskatchewan and a transformative project for North America’s agricultural supply chain,” said Drysdale in a press release.
Sandra Ellis, the railway’s vice-president of bulk, was similarly direct about what the deal signals for the company’s ambitions, describing potash as one of Canada’s most important export commodities.
“CN’s network provides the reach, capacity, and resilience needed to move these products efficiently from mine to port,” says Ellis in a press release. “We look forward to working closely with BHP as production ramps up and new supply chains are established to help support farmers and feed a growing world.”
The stakes extend well beyond the balance sheets of CN and BHP. Potash mining has long been a pillar of Saskatchewan’s economy, and Jansen, which has been years in development and billions of dollars in the making, represents a bet that global agriculture will need even more fertilizer to feed a growing population. As arable land comes under strain and food security climbs governments’ priority lists from Brazil to Southeast Asia, producers like BHP are counting on steady, high-volume demand to justify the scale of their investment.
That demand, however, depends on getting the product to market efficiently, which is where CN’s rail network becomes indispensable. The company has cast the arrangement as part of a broader mission connecting the country’s eastern and western coasts to trading partners in the U.S. and beyond, a role it has occupied since 1919.
As Jansen ramps up production in the coming years, the partnership between CN and BHP will serve as an early test of whether Canada’s rail infrastructure can keep pace with the country’s growing ambitions as a resource exporter, and whether the world’s appetite for fertilizer will match the scale of what Saskatchewan is preparing to produce.
“CN is proud to partner with BHP and help connect Canadian potash producers to customers around the world,” said Drysdale. “Our network and transportation solution expertise will provide reliable and sustainable service supporting the global food production supply chain and strengthen Canada’s position as a leading exporter of critical resources.”
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