The Churchill Falls deal has passed the vote in the House of Assembly – but only by a slim margin.
The vote came down just after 7 p.m. The entire PC caucus and independent member Eddie Joyce voted in favour, while the Liberals, NDP and independent Keith Russell voted against. The final vote was 21-18.
The decision comes at the end of a four-day special debate on the multi-billion dollar hydro-electric deal, during which several experts were brought to the floor of the legislature for elected officials to question.
The entire PC caucus gathers as premier Tony Wakeham speaks with media following the vote on the Churchill Falls MOU.
Premier Tony Wakeham says he is “very proud” of the agreement, and the work that was done to build off of the 2024 MOU by using his government’s review as the “foundation” for their negotiations. He says they gave the negotiating team their strategy to guide the talks, and “they went out and did their jobs. They worked hard, and I’m very proud of what they’ve done.”
Now that the vote is done, Wakeham says the next step is to start the negotiation process toward definitive agreements.
One of the variables in that process, however, is the Quebec election.
Wakeham says he is prepared to work with whichever party takes power. He won’t pre-judge what will happen, but states that he is willing to sit down with whoever is elected to lead that province.
