Many West Coast ports, on both sides of the border, are worried about the new Panama Canal and the coming of " Panamax " container ships. These ships can potentially end the current Landbridge deals involving U.S. and Canadian railroads. Here in Seattle, Terminal 5 in West Seattle has just about closed, with most of the business ( APL, MOL, HMM, OOCL ) moving across the Duwamish Waterway to Terminal 18, while Westwood Shipping Lines just inked a deal with Husky ( Terminal 4 ) in Tacoma. One of the many stories I have heard regarding the closure of T - 5 is that the waterway will be dredged, and the docks strengthened to hold the new Mega - Cranes required to handle Panamax ships.
I'm not sure how much cargo travels through Prince Rupert; seems to me Vancouver, B.C. is the bigger worry to the Ports of Seattle & Tacoma due to their lower Longshore wage structure.