{"id":680874,"date":"2026-05-20T01:38:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T01:38:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/680874\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T01:38:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T01:38:14","slug":"newfoundland-premier-seeks-new-deal-with-quebec-on-churchill-river-energy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/680874\/","title":{"rendered":"Newfoundland Premier seeks new deal with Quebec on Churchill River energy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Tony Wakeham at a news conference in St. John\u2019s on Tuesday.Paul Daly\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

The Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador says he wants to strike a new deal with Quebec on Churchill River power with possible help from Ottawa, forcing a renegotiation of an agreement trumpeted by the two provinces barely 17 months ago. <\/p>\n

Tony Wakeham told reporters at a Tuesday news conference in St. John\u2019s that his government rejects the memorandum of understanding on energy co-operation with Quebec that was signed by his predecessor in December, 2024. But rather than tearing it up or starting from scratch, he said he wants to use it as the basis for more dialogue.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a window of opportunity to get a better agreement,\u201d Mr. Wakeham said. He said his government agrees with the conclusions of an independent committee, which reviewed the deal, that the MOU in its current form is not in the public interest and revisions are necessary. \u201cWe\u2019re going to build on the parts that work and fix the parts that don\u2019t,\u201d he vowed. <\/p>\n

Ottawa could assist in Churchill Falls negotiations between Quebec and Newfoundland<\/a><\/p>\n

Newfoundland\u2019s revised stance, by a Progressive Conservative government that replaced a Liberal one last October, highlights the extent to which political power shifts repeatedly complicate infrastructure development in Canada. <\/p>\n

Those complications could continue in Quebec as well, where a provincial election is scheduled for October. There\u2019s no guarantee a new government will sign off on the terms of any revised deal hammered out by the provinces in the weeks ahead. <\/p>\n

When the MOU was signed by former premiers Fran\u00e7ois Legault and Andrew Furey, the two leaders called it a mutually beneficial deal \u2013 one that would allow the provinces to bury the hatchet<\/a> on their decades-old feud over hydropower. <\/p>\n

Under the agreement, Newfoundland would win significantly more revenue for electricity generated at the existing Churchill Falls station, as Quebec increases the price it pays for the energy. It would also clinch a partner \u2013 Hydro-Qu\u00e9bec \u2013 with deep pockets and technical know-how for three new production projects along the river. <\/p>\n

The utility would buy 90 per cent of the new power the projects yield, and pay a share of construction costs proportional to those volumes, deal documents show. The biggest among the three projects is a long-talked-about facility downstream from the Churchill Falls station at Gull Island.<\/p>\n

For its part, Quebec would get access to 7,200 megawatts of power in total at a lower price than any other renewable option in North America, according to Hydro-Qu\u00e9bec documents. It would pay an average of 6 cents per kilowatt hour for current and future power from Labrador \u2013 half the price of all comparable alternatives, according to the utility. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s now all subject to change. <\/p>\n

How can Canada create big nation-building resource projects? Ask our reporters<\/a><\/p>\n

Mr. Wakeham was elected on a pledge to review the MOU and has vowed to hold a referendum on any final agreement his government negotiates. On Tuesday, he said the province would be guided in talks by the recommendations from the independent review committee. <\/p>\n

The Premier said he would mandate a new negotiating team, led by the former chief executive of power distribution firm Fortis Inc., to secure a deal that carves out more electricity volumes for Newfoundland from the Churchill River projects.<\/p>\n

He said the government wants more power so it can develop industrial and mining opportunities in the Labrador Trough, a 1,600-kilometre-long mineral belt containing some of the world\u2019s richest iron ore deposits, among other materials. <\/p>\n

Prime Minister Mark Carney\u2019s government has flagged the trough, home to operations by Rio Tinto and other miners, as a priority for further development under its critical minerals strategy. And Mr. Carney has also mentioned the Churchill Falls expansion as an initiative worth pursuing, saying last week his government was in talks on how it could help clinch a pact<\/a> between the provinces.<\/p>\n

Mr. Wakeham said there are \u201clots of opportunities\u201d for the federal government to be involved, including on solutions for power line and grid interconnections. <\/p>\n

The Premier also said Newfoundland needs \u201cmore value\u201d from the power purchase agreements at the heart of the MOU, notably a pricing structure for the Gull Island development that doesn\u2019t leave the province saddled with billions of dollars of debt. <\/p>\n

He said Newfoundland needs \u201cmore transmission\u201d through Quebec so the province can have the option to sell its share of the generated power at market rates. <\/p>\n

Pierre-Olivier Pineau, an energy specialist at Montreal\u2019s HEC business school, said the new developments on the Churchill River represent a \u201clarge gamble,\u201d and that Quebec is making most of the investment. He questions whether Newfoundland is prepared and equipped to shoulder more of the risk, noting its past trouble with the Muskrat Falls development.<\/p>\n

Quebec Premier Christine Fr\u00e9chette signalled she\u2019s open to renegotiating the MOU, saying Tuesday she spoke to Mr. Wakeham the previous day, and will meet with him in the near future. Her team is analyzing the independent review committee report now, she said. <\/p>\n

Both premiers \u201cagree on the importance of reaching a win-win deal in the short term,\u201d Ms. Fr\u00e9chette said in an e-mailed statement. \u201cNow more than ever, it\u2019s essential to cooperate with our neighbours to ensure the economic and energy development of Quebec as well as Newfoundland and Labrador.\u201d <\/p>\n

How can Canada create big nation-building resource projects? Ask our reporters<\/p>\n

On Thursday, May 21 at 10 a.m. ET, our reporters will be answering reader questions on Canada\u2019s nation-building resource projects and the hurdles they face getting off the ground. Leave your question in the form below, or send an e-mail to audience@globeandmail.com<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Tony Wakeham at a news conference in St. John\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":680875,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,45,49,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,889,890,884,904,885,909,910,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,865,61,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":["post-680874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/680874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=680874"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/680874\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/680875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=680874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=680874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=680874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}