Newfoundland is ‘back in the oil business,’ new premier vows ahead of Carney meeting

ST. JOHN’S – Newfoundland and Labrador’s new premier vowed on Tuesday to pump new life into the province’s offshore oil industry, saying previous governments have been far too reluctant to champion oil and gas.

Tony Wakeham said he would leave later in the day for Ottawa, where he planned to ask Prime Minister Mark Carney to designate a proposed offshore oil development as a major project of national interest. The premier was referring to the Bay du Nord project led by Norwegian energy giant Equinor.

He also wants the federal government to make more national defence investments in the province.

“For too long now, we’ve been dormant and we have been afraid to talk about oil and gas,” the premier said during a state of the province speech hosted by the St. John’s Board of Trade. “I am proud to say we are back in the oil business.”

Wakeham and his Progressive Conservatives won a slim majority in last month’s election, ending 10 years of Liberal rule. He took several swipes at the Liberals during his speech Tuesday, saying they had misled the public about the province’s financial distress.

Newfoundland and Labrador has the largest per capita provincial net debt in the country. The Liberals had forecast the deficit at $626 million before the Oct. 14 election. Wakeham said briefings gave him “reason to believe” the situation is worse, though he would not provide details. He did, however, promise a financial update next month.

“Let’s just say that it’s disappointing,” he told reporters after his speech.

The premier campaigned on a promise to get Equinor to build the topside parts — equipment and structures above the waterline — of its Bay du Nord development in Newfoundland and Labrador to create local jobs. The company, however, has been trying to make the project more affordable, including by looking outside the province for much of its construction.

Wakeham said Tuesday that Equinor has now agreed to issue an expression of interest for the topside work. If it can be built in the province affordably and on time, it will be, the premier announced. He drew a round of applause from the crowd of about 400 people at a St. John’s hotel.

The premier wouldn’t say directly if he would provide Equinor with subsidies or other financial breaks to secure the work in Newfoundland and Labrador.

“It’s not about subsidizing, it’s about being a partner,” he told reporters. “We’re going to work with the oil and gas industry, be a partner with them. We want the federal government to be a partner, and that’s exactly how we get this done.”

Equinor has not yet decided to proceed with the project.

Meanwhile, government officials are drawing up the terms for an independent review of a draft energy deal with Hydro-Québec that was shepherded by the previous Liberal government, he said. The Liberals have said the deal would inject about $225 billion into the province over the next 50 years. 

Wakeham promised not only to have the deal examined, but also to put any binding agreements to a public referendum. Officials had hoped to hammer out final agreements by April 2026 — a date Wakeham described as an “artificial deadline.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 25, 2025.