Article content“That is enough power to light, heat, and cool all the homes in Toronto, Montréal and Vancouver combined,” explained the prime minister. “These projects will support 23,000 jobs – from the skilled trades to engineering – and contribute $31 billion to Canada’s GDP through the early 2040s.”Article contentHe added the energy projects will provide the power Canada needs to run the mines, the mills and the factories of the future.Article content“This is nation-building investment on the scale of the Trans-Canada Highway and the St. Lawrence Seaway.”Article content Prime Minister Mark Carney (right) was in St. John’s to take part in the Monday, Aug. 17, 2006 announcement on a Churchill Falls deal between Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec. At left is Newfoundland Labrador Premier Tony Wakeham. Photo by Keith Gosse/The TelegramArticle contentCarney also announced that he will be referring the Labrador Trough Clean Power, Critical Minerals and Infrastructure Corridor to the country’s Major Projects Office.Article contentThe Labrador Trough is a roughly 1,100-kilometre, mineral-rich belt stretching across Labrador and Québec that has significant resources of high-purity iron ore.Article contentThe Major Projects Office, said Carney, will coordinate and structure federal financing, accelerate permitting requirements, and work with Indigenous Peoples to forge meaningful partnerships while developing the potential the Labrador Trough represents, including generating the power required for mining the resources found there.Article contentArticle contentIn addition, Canada will support a series of pre-development projects in the Labrador region, funded under the First and Last Mile Fund (FLMF) through Natural Resources Canada. Those projects include:Article contentLabrador West Transmission Expansion to assess the transmission infrastructure needed to connect critical minerals mining operations in western Labrador to the electricity grid, supporting regional opportunities and mine electrification.Kami Iron Mine Partnership’s project to undertake planning and feasibility work for the transportation and energy infrastructure required for the large-scale Kami iron ore project near Wabush, N.L.Focus Graphite’s project to undertake pre-construction work for a new transmission line and road connecting the Lac Knife graphite project to Hydro-Québec’s power grid, advancing the development of projects that will support needed battery and energy storage technologies.SFP Pointe-Noire’s project to expand critical minerals handling capacity and related rail infrastructure, strengthening a key transportation gateway for mining production in the Labrador Trough.Article contentArticle contentThe federal and provincial representatives repeatedly referred to the deal as a “win-win-win” for the two provinces and Canada as a whole, with Carney adding a fourth “win” for the Innu people who reside in the lands on both side of the Labrador-Québec border.Article contentIn his comments, Wakeham said conversations have already begun with Innu Nation representatives and expressed hope they will join the provinces as partners in the energy deal as co-investors in the wind energy component.Article contentThe Innu will also have first shot at jobs created through the deal, followed in order of priority by residents of Labrador, those hailing from Newfoundland and Labrador and then the rest of Canada.Article content“This has gone from a deal between two provinces to a partnership between two provinces and a federal government that not only dreams big for Canada, but executes big for Canada,” Wakeham said in thanking Carney for the federal support.Article contentThe new deal sees the value of developing Labrador energy assets grow to about $49 billion for Newfoundland and Labrador’s coffers from $36 billion as negotiated under the 2024 MOU.
New N.L.-Quebec deal touted as largest clean energy investment in North American history
