Andrew Furey hits the road as sales work on Churchill Falls deal begins

A beaming Premier Andrew Furey is coming off a political high and turning his attention to selling Newfoundland and Labrador's new draft deal for Churchill Falls to a public that has been scarred by costly megaprojects of the past. 

On Thursday, Furey and Quebec Premier François Legault signed a memorandum of understanding to replace a lopsided  65-year-old contract attached to the Churchill Falls hydroelectric project. Hydro-Québec's latest figures show that it sells power for 51 times what it pays for power from the central Labrador plant. 

Thursday's agreement, will greatly expand hydro production in Labrador, and is expected to yield at least $200 billion for N.L. over the next five decades.

"The sky is the limit with this power," Furey told CBC Thursday. 

Furey is taking to the skies, too, to move the Churchill Falls strategy into from announcement to public persuasion. Furey was flying straight to the heart of Labrador Friday, to meet with people — including Indigenous groups — in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, and then to the power-generating town of Churchill Falls. 

The government has also started advertising the deal, with a polished campaign that clearly has been in development for some time. A website — ourchapter.ca — went live after the announcement, as the government boasted of the benefits and posted the MOU itself for download. 

Social media and online ads, featuring Furey's own voice, were available Thursday evening. 

Furey has also been fitting in media interviews to explain details of the MOU. Apart from a splashy news conference at The Rooms cultural complex, Furey did four one-on-one interviews on Thursday, and had an additional four booked for Friday, his office said. 

Furey heads to Labrador — where residents have long complained that their natural resources have been exploited for the gain of others — armed with a deal he says will right historic wrongs. He said the deal, if sanctioned, will mean thousands of construction jobs, sustained and significantly higher revenue, and more energy for Labrador itself. 

The money on the table will be hard to ignore, Furey suggested. 

"$200 billion has transformative power," he said.

For Furey, signing an MOU with Quebec represents the start of a new chapter for Newfoundland and Labrador.

"This changes everything. It changes everything for all those who stood where we now stand," he said.

The tentative agreement took almost four years to negotiate. With Quebec's need for more electricity and long-term contracts, Furey maintained that Labrador's neighbouring province must be ready to pay if it wants more power from N.L.