The federal government’s stated goal of doubling Canada’s electricity capacity in a generation received a major boost with the recent announcement of a $70-billion deal to work with the governments of Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador to dramatically expand clean electricity in Eastern Canada. 

The deal includes significant new capacity at the existing Churchill Falls generating station, a new hydro project at Gull Island, new transmission lines and huge amounts of new wind power in Labrador, to be developed in partnership with the Innu First Nation. This influx of clean electricity should enable the electrification and expansion of mining operations in the region, which also received federal financial support in last week’s announcement. The agreement aims to deliver massive amounts of new clean electricity — more than all the current power capacity overseen by BC Hydro — and promises to bring an end to many years of delay.

All in, it amounts to one of the largest electricity investments Canada has ever seen — and the biggest single bet yet on its clean-powered future. But as impressive as the size of this project might be, it now represents table stakes for governments across the country on the energy front in terms of the necessary scale of their ambitions. In aggregate, Canada needs not one but dozens of projects of this size, as quickly as they can be built. Not all provinces have a Churchill Falls to work with, but........

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