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Churchill Falls
DCHP-3 (Dec 2024)
1n. — Interprovincial relations, Economy, especially Atlantic Canada, Newfoundland & Labrador, and Quebec
the name of a hydro power plant in Labrador (see Image 1).
Type: 1. Origin — The term Churchill Falls is a Canadianism by virtue of origin, as its original meaning is tied to the place name Churchill Falls in Labrador (see Chart 1), where a very large hydroelectric dam was built from 1952 to 1974 as a sign of modernization in Canada.
The hydro power dam was a project proposed by the former Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, Joey Smallwood, in 1952 (see the 1965 quotation), and was pursued by the British Newfoundland Corporation (see Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage reference). The project was a significant undertaking, as it was the largest civil engineering project at the time (see The Canadian Encyclopedia reference) and offered sheer limitless electricity for Canada's growing economy.
The hydro power dam was a project proposed by the former Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, Joey Smallwood, in 1952 (see the 1965 quotation), and was pursued by the British Newfoundland Corporation (see Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage reference). The project was a significant undertaking, as it was the largest civil engineering project at the time (see The Canadian Encyclopedia reference) and offered sheer limitless electricity for Canada's growing economy.
Quotations
1965
Mr. Smallwood is anxious to get started on the Churchill Falls job as soon as possible. He has reason to be in a hurry. There is a ready market for the power in the eastern states of the US. markets which are now inadequately served by thermally developed power.
1966
Then think how you would feel if you came from that distant province of northern Ontario [the one with the resources in this fictional example, while the southern Ontario province would reap the benefits], and you will have an idea of how Newfoundlanders probably would have felt had they been present at the press conference at Hydro Quebec last week that followed the signing of the letter of intent by Churchill Falls (Labrador) Corp. Ltd. and the Quebec Hydro-Electric Commission for purchase by the latter of Churchill Falls power.
1976
Last spring the province of Newfoundland paid $160 million to buy the giant Churchill Falls hydroelectric project from Brinco Ltd. The purchase of one of the largest government takeovers in Canadian history, marked the end of an era by breaking up the 20-year-old love affair between Brinco and the province spawned by Joey Smallwood.
1984
The Churchill Falls project was built in the 1960s after Hydro-Quebec guaranteed it would purchase practically all the station's output. The 65-year agreement, which took effect in 1976, locks the Churchill Falls (Labrador) Corp. into a 40-year sales deal under which it must sell to Hydro-Quebec more than 90 per cent of the power generated at the plant for a fixed price of three-tenths of a cent per kilo-watt-hour.
1999
A fire in an underground transformer at the Churchill Falls hydro station may have dumped PCBs into the Churchill River.
2024
[Several hydroelectric plants, including one at Menihek (1954) on the Ashuanipi (a source stream) and the giant Churchill Falls Power Project (1974), supply power for nearby mining establishments.]
2025
N.L. Hydro CEO Jennifer Williams read out a list of why she believes the Churchill Falls MOU is the best deal for Newfoundland and Labrador. Her reasons included “taking back control of that river,” the possibility of four megaprojects, and more. Shortly after, the majority of MHAs approved the agreement.
2025
The tentative agreement doesn’t just promise new revenue, it promises an end to a bitterness and sense of injustice stemming from a 1969 contract that heavily favoured Quebec. Under the old agreement, Hydro-Quebec purchased about 15 per cent of its energy from the Churchill Falls plant at prices far below market value.
2n. — Interprovincial relations
a metaphor for interprovincial strife between the provinces of Newfoundand and Labador and Quebec.
Type: 4. Culturally Significant — The term Churchill Falls refers to the dispute between the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Province of Quebec, which was caused by the contractual terms of the Churchill Falls project, as they were heavily biased against Newfoundland and Labrador's interest (see the 1966 quotation in def. 1). When negotiations between Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec were settled in 1969 (see The Canadian Encyclopedia reference), dissatisfaction arose on the Newfoundland and Labrador side from being taken advantage of, a sentiment which only grew over time as the heavily discounted price of hydro power had not been indexed for inflation. The situation was defused before the expiration of the contract with a mutually agreeable arrangement, offering Quebec certainty for hydroelectric long-term planning. This memorandum of understanding would turn Newfoundland and Labrador overnight from a have-not into a have province (see the 2024 quotation).
Quotations
1990
"The history of the Newfies (is of) demagogues for politicians," he said, adding that nearly half of the province's residents "have problems reading and writing.
"It's a Third World country. People don't know that. It's a province like that, with politicians who detest Quebeckers because of Churchill Falls because they consider we're exploiting them. But that's another problem."
"It's a Third World country. People don't know that. It's a province like that, with politicians who detest Quebeckers because of Churchill Falls because they consider we're exploiting them. But that's another problem."
1992
Let us look at Churchill Falls, for one example. I know that many millions of dollars were spent because of Churchill Falls to provide electrical power.
2010
They will have this hanging over their heads like the Newfoundlanders of today do because of Churchill Falls.
2024
Newfoundland and Labrador has reached a monumental — but tentative — deal with Quebec over power flowing from the Churchill Falls hydroelectric plant that could reap hundreds of billions of dollars over the next five decades.
References
- The Canadian Encyclopedia • Churchill Falls
- Heritage Newfoundland and Labrador • The 1969 Contract
Images
Chart 1: Internet Domain Search, 7 January 2025
