Manitoba 'repatriating' some hydro exports from U.S. to power Canadian projects instead

CBC News

· Posted: Apr 14, 2025 2:56 PM EDT | Last Updated: 23 minutes ago

Manitoba will cancel some hydroelectricity exports to the U.S. in an effort to power more homegrown projects, Premier Wab Kinew says.

Manitoba will let two of its hydroelectric agreements which exported power across the southern border expire, Kinew told reporters on Monday. The province is "repatriating" that power to invest in Canadian projects as trade tensions with the U.S. drag on, he said.

"We saw that there's 500 [megawatts] of export contracts that are expiring at the end of the month, and so we've decided as Canadians and as Manitobans [that] we are going to use that power to build up our own economy here at home," he said.

One of those export agreements was with a Minnesota-based power company, Kinew said, adding that he'd already spoken to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz about the move and the governor was understanding.

However, Manitoba will still sell electricity to the U.S., he said.

"We're still going to be good partners, and reliable partners, for our American export market," Kinew said. "But the reality is, we're also going to step up to a new level of engagement in terms of leading the energy conversation in Canada."

'Appetite' for a big Canadian trade, energy project

While Manitoba Hydro's rates are frozen for this year, it has applied for a series of three annual electricity rate hikes of 3.5 per cent, beginning in 2026.

Drought and low water levels over the last two years have caused Manitoba Hydro's revenues to dip, the Crown corporation said in its recent rate application to the Public Utilities Board.

Kinew did not answer a question about the financial implications of the move on Manitoba Hydro, which is already carrying $24.6 billion worth of debt — $940 million higher than previously forecast.

Kinew said he wants Manitoba Hydro to set aside 50 megawatts of power to be dedicated to a transmission line to Nunavut in the north.

"Can we put a transmission line there? Can we attach broadband to it? Can we connect that Churchill along the way and open up opportunities here in Manitoba? I think we can," he said.

Representatives from Nunavut will be in Manitoba on Wednesday to sign an agreement, and Kinew says he hopes the federal government will be on board after the federal election later this month.

The remaining 450 megawatts could be used to power a potential trade corridor heading into eastern or western Canada, said Kinew.

"I think there's an appetite to approve a big energy and trade project that crosses provincial and territorial borders," he said. 

"We know that those trade corridors are going to need power."