Yukon says there’s no plan for Dawson City bridge, despite PM’s comment

DAWSON CITY, Yukon — The Yukon government is pouring cold water on a suggestion by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that a bridge is being built across the Yukon River in Dawson City, after years of struggle to construct a sanctioned winter ice route.

A statement from the territorial government says it believes Trudeau meant bridge construction happening about 700 kilometres away, adding that nearly 70 per cent of people surveyed in Dawson City don’t want a physical bridge.

Trudeau had been touting his government’s investment in infrastructure in the House of Commons on Wednesday, listing a string of projects including what he called “a new bridge over the Yukon River in Dawson City.”

Dawson City usually uses an aging ferry in warmer temperatures and an ice bridge in the winter to connect communities on either side of the river, but an annual ice bridge has become less reliable recently as the ice is often too thin for a government-approved route.

Residents in the small neighbourhood on the west side of the river still find ways across, but without a sanctioned road, emergency vehicles can’t travel to the other side.

A statement issued by the Yukon government on Thursday says it believes Trudeau was referring to a project to replace the Nisutlin Bay Bridge in Teslin, Yukon, which is being partially paid for by the federal government’s National Trade Corridors Fund.

It said a recent survey found that 68 per cent of Dawson City residents said they were currently satisfied with the current options for crossing the river.

“The Government of Yukon will continue to listen to Dawson City residents when it comes to infrastructure projects in their community,” the statement says.

Trudeau’s office says in response to the Yukon statement that federal money was originally earmarked for a Dawson City bridge in 2021, but it was diverted to the Nisutlin project a year later at the request of the Yukon government as it was in urgent need of replacement.

The office says in an email reply that $135 million in the fund is also for reconstruction of 110 km of highway north of Whitehorse.

“The $135 million in funding reflects the federal government’s steadfast commitment to working alongside the Government of Yukon to invest in the future of Canadians and in Canada’s northern territories and their prosperity,” the Prime Minister’s Office said.

The Yukon government says it is “working with Transport Canada to ensure the Prime Minister’s Office has the most up-to-date information” on infrastructure projects going forward.

A Feb. 5 notice from the territory said there was still not enough ice to construct a bridge this winter. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 15, 2024

The Canadian Press