Energy becomes big issue in Atlantic Canada as N.B. ties hopes to Quebec

HALIFAX, N.S.

It’s a deal prompted partly by a desire to find alternatives to oil and coal, Graham said in a recent interview.

“We had to seize our own future,” he said of the plans to sell NB Power and tie his province more closely to Quebec.

“This is a game-changing moment for the province of New Brunswick … because it allows us to access cheaper hydroelectricity, weaning off our dependency on expensive oil and coal fossil-fuel generation.”

Whether the proposed deal with the Crown-owned Quebec giant will meet those goals will be a topic of debate in 2010 as the Liberals face fierce local opposition from labour groups and the provincial Conservatives.

However, some energy experts and economists say Graham’s deal signals politicians in oil-importing provinces are willing to make bold and risky moves.

“Energy changes a lot of old assumptions,” says Jeff Rubin, author of “Why Your World is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller.”

The Canadian Press