It took more than half a century, but Newfoundland and Labrador finally has a second chance to turn resource wealth into lasting prosperity.

The Churchill Falls agreement, renegotiated last December between Hydro-Québec and Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro, promises an estimated $225 billion in revenue over the life of the deal. It marks the close of one of the country’s most lopsided contracts and the beginning of something potentially far more consequential: the opportunity to build a durable economic future, this time on its own terms.

Over the past two decades, Newfoundland and Labrador has quietly built a resilient innovation economy in offshore energy, ocean tech, cybersecurity, and defence. These aren’t fledgling start-ups. They are Canadian-owned scale-ups, exporting technologies and building intellectual property here at home. The technical know-how exists. The global market appetite exists. Now, so does the capital – if the next government is disciplined enough to use it wisely.

History is a harsh teacher. Resource windfalls in this province have driven high employment and infrastructure growth before. But without an industrial strategy to anchor those gains, the benefits faded quickly. When the boom passed, so did the prosperity.

This election is different only if we make it so.

This time, windfall wealth must be put to work. A sovereign growth fund – properly structured and........

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