Senator David Wells put it bluntly this week: “Let’s also not forget that Hydro Quebec owns now and forever 34.2% of the Upper Churchill Falls hydro-electric project — even after 2041 when the current electricity pricing contract ends. The Gull Island MOU grants Hydro Quebec an astounding 40% ownership. Have we learned nothing?”
It is a question every Newfoundlander and Labradorian should be asking. The Upper Churchill deal remains the most unfair and painful in the history of resource development in Canada. The 1969 contract bound Newfoundland and Labrador to sell power at rock-bottom prices, earning billions in benefits for Quebec while this province received little in return. The contract will expire someday, but as Senator Wells reminds us, Hydro-Quebec’s 34.2% ownership stake is permanent. Contracts may run out—ownership does not.
Now, the MOU raises the specter of history repeating itself at Gull Island. If Hydro-Québec is guaranteed a 40% ownership stake in Gull Island, the very foundation of the project risks replicating the old giveaway. Yes, Newfoundland and Labrador needs capital and access to transmission, but ownership means control — and it means that a significant share of future profits and decision-making authority will never belong to us.
This comes at a moment when global demand for electricity is exploding. Data centres, artificial intelligence, electrified industries, and climate-driven cooling demand are creating a premium for reliable, low-carbon power. Labrador hydro is not just another regional project; it is a globally strategic resource. In that context, why would Newfoundland and Labrador once again bargain away permanent ownership for temporary access to a single market.
The province has options. We can insist on structures that protect our ownership while negotiating long-term power purchase agreements that fairly compensate Quebec for transmission. We can pursue federal support for east-west transmission that connects Labrador directly into Atlantic Canada and New England. We can tie future hydro developments to local industrial use, ensuring that the electricity is not only exported but also fuels jobs and value-added industries here at home.
The truth is simple: ownership matters. An equity stake is forever. Once given away, it does not return, regardless of contract terms. We learned that the hard way with Churchill Falls. Senator Wells is right to sound the alarm: a deal that gives Hydro-Québec nearly half of Gull Island’s ownership is not a partnership — it is a giveaway!
Newfoundlanders and Labradorians deserve better than another generation of lost wealth. The government must approach Gull Island with clear eyes and hard lines: protect provincial ownership, secure fair market value, and build partnerships that keep economic benefits at home. Otherwise, decades from now, another generation will be left asking the same haunting question: have we learned nothing?