Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec announce new Churchill Falls deal

Premier Tony Wakeham and Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette met in St. John's today, where a new Churchill Falls deal was announced. Prime Minister Mark Carney was also in attendance.

Fréchette was joined by Quebec Economy, Innovation and Energy Minister Bernard Drainville and Hydro-Québec President and CEO Claudine Bouchard.

Details of the new deal:

• There will be no referendum.

• Deal worth $49 billion.

• The generation station in Churchill Falls will be upgraded.

• Ottawa is promising $10 billion.

• The House of Assembly will vote on the deal in September.

• Newfoundland and Labrador will now have a guaranteed portfolio of transmission to other markets totalling 985 MW.

• The new agreement also includes terms for benefits sharing, including employment. It includes a full guarantee that 85 per cent of all person-hours of employment involved in constructing Gull Island will stay within Newfoundland and Labrador.

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This new Churchill Falls agreement between Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec was billed as an attempt to replace the province’s notoriously bad 1969 power contract with a much more lucrative long-term arrangement.

The former Liberal Government and the province of Quebec signed an MOU on December 12, 2024, for a new energy partnership.

The proposed deal had three major pieces. The first was to replace the 1969 Churchill Falls contract, expand Churchill Falls, and develop Gull Island on the Churchill River.