Canadian leaders gather in St. John's to unveil expanded Churchill Falls power agreement

Prime Minister Mark Carney will travel to St. John's on Monday for a joint appearance with Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Tony Wakeham and Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette to present a new energy-security declaration. The updated Churchill Falls agreement promises a guaranteed transmission corridor of 985 megawatts via Quebec, allowing Newfoundland and Labrador to sell that amount to external markets. Sources say each province will obtain substantially more power than the previous memorandum, with Quebec projected to receive roughly 10,000 megawatts and Newfoundland and Labrador at least 2,350 megawatts, possibly up to 3,000.

To meet the higher output, the parties have agreed to build a larger hydroelectric plant on Gull Island and boost the capacity of existing turbines, while also adding wind power for the first time. Hydro-Québec’s senior executives and Natural Resources Canada will hold separate briefings on the details, and the formal announcement is scheduled for 1:45 p.m. NT in St. John's.