Manitoba freezes some electricity exports to U.S., plans to turn northward

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew attends a first ministers meeting in Ottawa on Wednesday, Jan.15, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

WINNIPEG — Manitoba will soon have more energy for itself and other Canadian jurisdictions after two hydroelectric contracts with a Minnesota utility expire at the end of this month, Premier Wab Kinew said Monday.

The contracts, signed in 2010, are for a combined 500 megawatts of power to Xcel Energy.

Kinew said Manitoba is repatriating energy by keeping that power for domestic use.

"We've decided, as Canadians and Manitobans, we are going to use that power to build up our own economy here at home," Kinew said.

"So in Manitoba, that means more housing, more factories. But it also gives us the opportunity to talk about trade corridors."

While the change coincides with the trade dispute with the United States, Crown-owned Manitoba Hydro said Monday it had not intended to renew the contracts in any event.

The 500 megawatts of power have been factored into the utility's plans for the coming years, as it faces potential capacity limits in peak winter months as early as 2029.

Kinew said 50 megawatts of the newly available power will be set aside for potential development of a transmission line that would connect parts of Nunavut to Manitoba's grid.

The Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link, an infrastructure project that aims to reduce dependence on diesel fuel in northern communities, is in the early stages and could be online by 2032.

Kinew said he wants the federal government to help pay for the project, which would serve the far north of Manitoba and some 11,000 Nunavut residents west of Hudson Bay.

He also wants federal help for an east-west power grid.

"We're also willing to say, hey, if folks are serious about building a trade corridor towards the West or to other parts of Canada, we've got 450 megs of power that we're ready to bring to the table to build up our country and to protect our sovereignty," said the NDP premier.

The Opposition Progressive Conservatives said it's unclear whether a reduction in sales to Minnesota will hurt Manitoba Hydro's bottom line. The utility has a higher debt load than utilities in other provinces, after large cost overruns on two megaprojects.

"We have a Crown corporation that's $25 billion in debt," said Tory energy critic Lauren Stone.

"(Kinew) needs to be candid with Manitobans as to what this is actually going to cost Manitoba ratepayers down the line."

Kinew said other contracts with utilities in the United States will continue and export commitments will be honoured.

"When we say we are going to keep our word, we do exactly that."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 14, 2025.

Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press