Only On The Walters Post

By GW

These are my own thoughts from what I’ve seen and lived through. I’m sharing them to spark some thinking and honest conversation, not because I have all the answers.

June 12, 2025

So here’s the thing. Every time I turn around, there’s another big, shiny energy announcement coming out of Quebec. A new deal. A fresh agreement. Millions, sometimes even billions, changing hands. This time, it’s Newfoundland and Labrador shaking hands with Hydro-Québec, working out what they call a “genuine partnership” over Churchill Falls and new hydro projects up in Labrador. And the rest of us are left wondering, how come Ontario and the western provinces aren’t part of these kinds of headlines?

It’s not like we don’t have the rivers. It’s not like we lack the brains or the hands to do the work. So why does it always seem like the money and the power, both kinds, flow east and stop at Quebec?

Let’s back up a bit.

Decades ago, Quebec made a major push into hydroelectric development. In the 60s and 70s, they built an empire of dams and transmission lines through James Bay, often at great cost to Indigenous communities and untouched wilderness. But it gave them something nobody else had at the time, energy independence, and a whole lot of export power. Today, Hydro-Québec is one of the largest hydroelectric utilities in the world. They sell clean energy to the northeastern United States, and they use those profits to fund more projects, more infrastructure, and more influence.

Meanwhile, Ontario shut down coal, which was the right call for the environment, but instead of building new public hydro projects, we chased private energy contracts. A little wind here, some solar there, a few natural gas plants, and all the while our electricity bills kept climbing. So…where was the long-term plan? Where were the made-in-Ontario projects that could feed our own grid, and put money back into our communities?

And out west? Alberta has oil and gas, sure, but even there, the rivers are waiting. Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and British Columbia all have hydro potential. Manitoba Hydro does sell some power to the States, but you don’t hear about billion-dollar deals or sweeping national partnerships coming out of there. You don’t hear about Ottawa investing the same way it does in Quebec.

And that’s the heart of it, federal funding.

Ottawa has a long history of putting big money behind Quebec’s energy projects. They call it nation-building or climate action or green infrastructure, but somehow the dollars keep flowing in one direction. It’s not that Quebec doesn’t deserve support. They’ve done the work. But so have we, and we’re still waiting for equal footing.

So if you’re sitting and asking why your province isn’t getting its fair share of clean energy investment, you’re not imagining things. It’s a mix of political priorities, historical ties, and where the spotlight tends to land.

But here’s something I’ve learned from a lifetime on the land: if you wait around for someone else to hand you a solution, you’ll be waiting a long time. Maybe it’s time Ontario and the western provinces stopped waiting. Maybe it’s time we built our own energy future, in our own way, with our own people, on our own land. We’ve got the water. We’ve got the know-how. Now we need the will, and a government that looks past the St. Lawrence.

Until the next time,
Keep Your Minds Open & Your Stories Alive. GW