The governments of Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador are set to make what they’re calling an “energy security” announcement, amid reports a deal may have been made on Churchill Falls.
Premiers Christine Frechette and Tony Wakeham will be joined by Prime Minister Mark Carney, ministers and officials from the two provinces’ electric utilities on Monday in St. John’s, N.L.
The announcement comes as negotiations surrounding a deal for Hydro-Québec and Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro to share energy from the Churchill River in Labrador have been ongoing for months.
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Both utilities jointly own the Churchill Falls generating station in Labrador under a contract signed in 1969 that was set to expire in 2041.
Two years ago, the provinces unveiled a framework agreement to end the 1969 deal and established a new arrangement to share energy and expand the Churchill River’s generating capacity.
But after Wakeham’s Progressive Conservatives won a majority government in the 2025 election, the premier subjected the deal to an independent review. He also sent a negotiating team back to the bargaining table with Quebec in June, looking for, as he put it, more power, more value and permission to transmit power from Labrador through Quebec to export markets.
For Quebec, the deal could ensure it has the megawatts it needs to meet the province’s growing electricity demand through 2075.
There were reports last week, first reported by La Presse, that an agreement had been reached, though Wakeham’s office said nobody had signed any final deal.
The existing Churchill Falls plant has a capacity of 5,428 megawatts and supplies about 15 per cent of Hydro-Québec’s electricity.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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