EventDocument
Newfoundland and Labrador approves a mandate to negotiate a new Churchill Falls agreement with Hydro-Québec
In April 2023, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and the board of Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro approved a principles-based mandate for a three-person negotiating team to engage with Hydro-Québec on replacing the 1969 Churchill Falls Power Contract with a new agreement, according to the 2026 report of the Churchill River Independent Review Committee (pp. 6-7). The team, chaired by former Fortis executive Karl Smith, was appointed after the province's Churchill River Management Expert Panel (the "2041 Panel"), formed in May 2022, delivered its advice to the government in 2023. In June 2024, the government and the NL Hydro board approved a second mandate authorizing negotiations over the development of Gull Island. NL Hydro and Hydro-Québec signed a memorandum of understanding on 12 December 2024.
- Date
- (known to the month)
- Kind
- Other
- Where
- Newfoundland and Labrador
- Evidence
- Document: An official document: a bill, a filing, an agreement text. How evidence is weighed
- Who
- Government of Newfoundland and Labrador (acted)
Sources
- Churchill River Independent Review Committee, “Creating Long-Term Value from the Churchill River for the People of Newfoundland and Labrador (Report by the Churchill River Independent Review Committee)” (external site), . source record
Projects
Claims that rest on this event
How it bears on the outcome
| Explanation | Fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| O0 No meaningful speed-up | Neutral weak | A 2023 provincial negotiating mandate that predates the trade conflict; it shows the Churchill Falls talks began on their own track and does not bear on pace since, or on buyers. |
| O1 Faster, but the extra output goes mostly elsewhere | Neutral weak | A 2023 provincial negotiating mandate that predates the trade conflict; it shows the Churchill Falls talks began on their own track and does not bear on pace since, or on buyers. |
| O2 Faster, and more volume reaches the US (this level or higher) | Neutral weak | A 2023 provincial negotiating mandate that predates the trade conflict; it shows the Churchill Falls talks began on their own track and does not bear on pace since, or on buyers. |
| O3 Locked-in preferential terms for the US | Neutral weak | A 2023 provincial negotiating mandate that predates the trade conflict; it shows the Churchill Falls talks began on their own track and does not bear on pace since, or on buyers. |