QS wants Legault to leverage energy prices in negotiations with Trump

Québec Solidaire is urging Francois Legault’s government to leverage the price of our hydroelectricity in negotiations with Trump.

Québec Solidaire (QS) is urging Francois Legault’s government to leverage the price of our hydroelectricity in negotiations with Trump. Co-spokesperson said if the U.S. president-elect wants to impose tariffs, the province should threaten to hike the price of electricity.

“We don’t need to wait [after other premiers and the federal government] ... We are the only people who can defend the interests of Quebec, and this is the responsibility of Mr. Legault,” she said in an interview Sunday.

“We have important leverage to face this threat, and that’s our hydroelectricity. Our energy is in demand all around the world, and we export a big quantity of our hydroelectricity to some states.”

Legault will join other Canadian premiers on a negotiation trip to Washington on Feb. 12. But Ghazal said provinces' interests are sometimes not aligned, so we don't need to wait for a consensus.

Ghazal accused Legault of being “very passive” and “wasting our time” by pandering to Trump’s whims. She wants the province to stand up to the American president-elect.

“He thinks that if in Quebec we respond to the demand of Trump, he will stop increasing the tariffs,” she said. “I’m offering him a solution. Why not use our most powerful leverage to negotiate with Trump?”

Ghazal said Quebecers shouldn’t be worried of increasing the price of hydroelectricity backfiring against them.