High voltage power lines run between towers in Beauharnois, Que., on Jan. 27. Quebec's Coalition Avenir Québec government is considering stopping shipments of electricity that it currently sells on the U.S. spot market in response to the trade war.Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press
Quebec, one of the world’s biggest hydroelectricity producers, is weighing whether to cut power exports to the United States as the province works on next steps in Canada’s trade battle with its southern neighbour.
The province’s Coalition Avenir Québec government is considering stopping shipments of electricity that it currently sells on the U.S. spot market. And it’s also looking at its options for new multibillion-dollar power contracts signed with Massachusetts and New York for transmission projects slated to come online over the next 15 months.
“It’s the start of the commercial war,” Quebec Premier François Legault told reporters Tuesday. “We must not rule out anything.”
The Premier said any measures on curbing existing power shipments would not be implemented in the near term but that his government is weighing them among its retaliatory options. He said Quebec is also looking at the legal “feasibility” of breaking supply contracts for future power deliveries signed with the two U.S. states.
The comments echo those of Hydro-Québec chief executive Michael Sabia, who said in a speech last week that Canada cannot let itself get walked over by U.S. President Donald Trump and has to counterattack in a smart but forceful way. The U.S. President wants to break Canada’s confidence, Mr. Sabia said, and this country cannot let that happen.
At the moment, Quebec sells most of its U.S. electricity exports on the northeast spot market, meaning any reduction in shipments won’t necessarily be felt in a way that sends a political message. The province’s only existing direct U.S. supply contract is with Vermont, a state that voted overwhelmingly Democrat last November.
Two new supply deals have been cemented with Massachusetts and New York, and the projects to carry that power are still under construction. The bigger of the two, called the Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE), will provide one-fifth of the city of New York’s power when it comes online and generate more than $20-billion in revenue for the provincial Crown corporation.
Cutting power shipments to the United States would be an enormous shift for Quebec, whose political and business leaders have for years characterized the province’s hydropower resources as a tool to help the wider region in the shift toward a low-carbon future. Mr. Legault himself has often talked about Hydro-Québec being “a battery” that provides the U.S. northeast with clean renewable power.
The situation has now changed dramatically, Mr. Sabia told The Globe and Mail in a recent interview.
He said Quebec has important relationships with New York and the New England states and “wants to be a good partner” with them. But he suggested the broader context between Canada and the United States dictates that Quebec needs to review its power-supply agreements.
“Knowing that if America is going to take care of itself, we need to take care of ourselves,” Mr. Sabia said. “Once we’ve taken care of ourselves, if there are other things that we can do on a co-operative basis with the United States, great. … In the circumstances, we are looking at those contracts and we are trying to assess the situation better.”
Asked for comment, a spokesperson for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority said the agency and Hydro-Québec have a long-term agreement that is legally binding. She declined to provide additional thoughts.
Construction on both new power supply projects continues. The New England Clean Energy Connect project to Massachusetts is 90-per-cent completed on the Quebec side, with service scheduled to start in December, according to Hydro-Québec. The CHPE project is roughly 65-per-cent completed on the Quebec side, with expected entry-into-service in May, 2026.