What the N.S. government wants from Ottawa to close the Atlantic Loop

The province of Nova Scotia is digging in its heels as Ottawa presses for a deal on the multi-billion dollar Atlantic Loop hydroelectricity project.

The initiative has been pitched as key to getting the East Coast off coal, and onto a greener grid by 2030.

During a speech at the inaugural Atlantic Economic Forum in Antigonish, N.S. Monday night, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the audience the loop is an important initiative both for the environment and the economy.

“Just think,” he said, “The East Coast could and should be a clean energy powerhouse and this federal government will be there to help make it happen.

Ottawa has put $4.5 billion on the table to get the energy deal done.

After Trudeau’s speech, Nova Scotia’s premier says Ottawa’s offer is a loan he’s not interested in taking.

“If Nova Scotia ratepayers are going to pay, we’ll build Nova Scotia solutions, like we’ve put forward already,” he said.

Tuesday, Nova Scotia’s Minister of Natural Resources and Renewables, Tory Rushton, said Ottawa needs to put real cash forward.

“Come to the table with some capital money,” said Rushton, “that’s not going to put on the backs of the ratepayers of Nova Scotia.”

According to Rushton, the federal government’s proposal would have long term costs.

“They’ve actually not put any capital money on the table,” he said, “and we’re going to be tying Nova Scotians to this for upwards to 50 years, so as a province we need to make sure it’s the right decision.”

The so-called Atlantic Loop, would bring hydroelectricity generated in Quebec and Labrador into Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland.

Tory Rushton insists the province isn’t relying on the project to achieve its legislated climate targets as it explores wind, solar, and tidal power.

“We can actually meet our 80 per cent targets without the Atlantic Loop, we know that,” said Rushton, “There are serious conversations taking place, and we still are at the table with Nova Scotia Power, what are the options if the Atlantic is going to be foreseen.”

But the Leader of the Liberal opposition, Zach Churchill, said Houston is playing politics while the 2030 deadline looms.

“When Ottawa puts 4.5 billion on the table, you take it,” he said, “Right now (the project) is the best option to hit our renewable targets but to also make that power rates stabilize and don’t continue to go up.”

“The Premier has said ‘no’ to this project when he has no alternative plans,” he added. “We need the Premier to stop the political bickering with Ottawa.”

Churchill also said he wants more specifics on the provincial government’s alternatives.

“They have concepts they are taking about that are unproven, and that certainly don’t look like they are going to be in production in the next six years,” he said.

But political scientist Lori Turnbull of Dalhousie University thinks the deal will get done.

“It seems like the feds want to lock this down, “ she said, “and obviously this is not just about Nova Scotia, and so there’s a little bit of a window where Premier Houston can push for a better deal from the feds.”

“You see this as the same time as the battery plant for Volkswagen,” Turnbull added, “that $16 billion so I can imagine why Houston is saying, ‘yeah, we can take more than $4 billion.’”

In a statement, Jean-Sebastien Comeau, a spokesperson for the federal minister of infrastructure, Dominic Leblanc, wrote, “…the Government of Canada has made a substantial offer of financial support to the Province of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to get this project done, backed by thorough expert analysis.”

“It is the only real plan to get Atlantic Canada off coal by 2030….and we urge the provinces to get on board.” 

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page.