The Carney government is pumping C$10 billion in federal backing into a massive hydroelectric project in Newfoundland and Labrador, pitching the project as part of its effort to strengthen Canada’s economy against President Donald Trump’s trade threats.
The federal support will help to advance a broader C$70 billion project to upgrade the Churchill Falls generating station and develop Gull Island. Prime Minister Mark Carney said it will be the largest clean energy project in North America, one that could eventually generate enough electricity to light up the equivalent of Canada’s three largest cities.
“The most important thing happening this week in Canada is today’s announcement,” Carney said Monday, two days before a fresh round of 50 percent tariffs is set to hit Canadian products and as trade talks with the Trump administration approach a Wednesday deadline.
Carney said he anticipated the project would be the first thing he’d discuss with Trump when they next speak. It is the “type of generational investment that gets everyone’s attention, even the president of the United States.”
