Wakeham, Fréchette and Hydro-Quebec to make announcement in St. John’s on Monday

Newfoundland and Labrador’s premier says he’ll be making an announcement with Quebec’s premier on Monday, after reports last week that the provinces have struck an energy deal.

A news release from the Newfoundland and Labrador government says Tony Wakeham will welcome Christine Fréchette for “an energy and economic development announcement” in St. John’s on Monday afternoon.

It says Quebec’s energy minister, Bernard Drainville, and Hydro-Québec president and CEO Claudine Bouchard will also be there.

The governments have been negotiating a deal to share energy from the Churchill River in Labrador, and La Presse reported last week that they had reached an agreement. 

Hydro utilities in Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador jointly own the Churchill Falls generating station in Labrador, under a contract signed in 1969 and set to expire in 2041. 

The provinces unveiled a framework agreement in 2024 to end the 1969 deal and establish a new arrangement to share energy and expand the Churchill River’s generating capacity, but when Wakeham was elected last fall, he subjected the draft deal to an independent review and sent a negotiating team back to the bargaining table.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 16, 2026

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