Manitoba signs on for proposed east-west power plan

The Manitoba government hopes the federal government will get on board with a national electricity grid to “Trump-proof” the Canadian economy.

Premier Wab Kinew announced Friday Manitoba signed on to an Ontario-led memorandum of understanding calling for the project.

Kinew said he wants to see more east-west power sharing, instead of north-south to the United States, but federal money is needed to proceed.

“Pipelines make Albertans rich, but transmission lines make Manitobans rich,” he said at a news conference. “(The federal government has) the big chequebook, if we want to build that transmission line to northern Saskatchewan, to northern Alberta, to help decarbonize oil and gas in Canada, this is the time to do it.”

On Thursday, Ottawa signed a memorandum with Alberta to grow that province’s exports while also committing to making it a world leader in green energy technology, in part, by approving a pipeline project.

Kinew said now would be the perfect time for a national transmission grid.

“They did the deal with Alberta yesterday. There’s a lot of people who are saying, ‘Good for the economy.’ But there’s some Canadians saying, ‘What about the environment?’” the premier said.

“Part of what they talked about yesterday was decarbonizing the oil and gas sector. We have the low-carbon power to help Alberta and Saskatchewan do that.”

A national electric grid would create local jobs and put Manitoba on the map for its clean energy, Kinew said.

Manitoba Hydro already exports power to some areas in Ontario, Saskatchewan and the United States, but the utility has warned it needs new power generation as early as 2029. The government is looking to set up wind power generation in conjunction with Indigenous-led organizations.

Manitoba is one of eight provinces and territories that has signed on to, or showed interest in, Ontario’s memorandum, provincial Environment and Climate Change Minister Mike Moyes said. Moyes declined to say which other governments are on board with the concept, but said there is “broad support” for the proposed project across the country.

— with files from The Canadian Press

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca