TROIS-RIVIÈRES – Quebec’s new energy minister says he is concerned a draft agreement about energy from Newfoundland and Labrador is in jeopardy.
Jean Boulet said Wednesday that Quebec needs the additional energy it would receive under the draft deal, if it is finalized.
“Is there a risk that it will fall through? I always say that it must not fall through,” Boulet said.
It was Boulet’s first public statement on the issue since taking over from Christine Fréchette, who resigned from cabinet in order to enter the Coalition Avenir Québec leadership race last Sunday.
Quebec Premier François Legault was in Ottawa on Wednesday to meet with his provincial counterparts and Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Tony Wakeham told reporters Wednesday that he expected to meet with Legault while they were in the national capital.
Boulet spoke to reporters in Trois-Rivières, on the margins of a CAQ caucus to prepare for the parliamentary session.
“When we have higher interests and we discuss them, we have to make sure we achieve our objectives, and when it comes to energy, you know how much we need to increase our capacity,” he said at a press conference.
“The discussions with Newfoundland are aimed at addressing our priorities and our imperatives for tomorrow,” Boulet added.
Legault unveiled the memorandum of understanding in St. John’s in December 2024 alongside Newfoundland and Labrador’s then-Liberal premier, Andrew Furey.
If finalized, the deal would end the current agreement, signed in 1969 and set to expire in 2041, for the purchase of power from the Churchill Falls hydroelectric plant in Labrador. Currently, Churchill Falls has a capacity of 5,428 megawatts and supplies 15 per cent of Hydro-Québec’s electricity.
The current agreement is perceived as unfair by many in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Last fall, Newfoundland and Labrador voters elected a Progressive Conservative government which has since assembled a three-person panel to review the draft agreement. The panel’s report is due in April.
Officials had hoped to have final, binding agreements hammered out by the end of April, well ahead of Quebec’s provincial election, which is expected in October.
Under the draft deal, Hydro-Québec agreed to pay much more for electricity from Churchill Falls. The tentative agreement also allows Hydro-Québec to lead the construction of a second powerhouse at Churchill Falls, as well as another power plant downstream on the Churchill River at Gull Island. Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro would be responsible for upgrades to the existing plant.
When he resigned on Jan. 14, Legault expressed optimism that the province would reach a “win-win” energy agreement with Newfoundland and Labrador.
He argued the provisional agreement between the two provinces’ electric utilities was already a victory for both governments.
“Unfortunately, there was an election (in Newfoundland and Labrador) in recent months. The new Newfoundland government basically decided that the agreement was too advantageous for Quebec,” Mr. Legault acknowledged.
“But I am confident that in the coming months, we will find a ‘win-win’ agreement, because it is important for Quebec and it is important for Newfoundland to take advantage of this tremendous opportunity.”
