Provincial and Territorial Update – December 24, 2025
An overview on Provincial and Territorial updates for the week of Christmas. Written by Wes McLean.
New Brunswick
- J.D. Irving has secured an agreement to sell power from the large wind farm it’s building in western New Brunswick to N.B. Power. The Bright Mountain wind project, first announced by JDI in the spring of 2024, got regulatory approval from the province last winter. In a news release, N.B. Power announced that it had signed an agreement to purchase 200 megawatts of energy from the project.
- Statistics Canada reported a population decrease in New Brunswick last quarter — its largest quarterly decline since the 1970s, according to an economic development consultant. National data released this week shows the population as of Oct. 1 had decreased across Canada. In New Brunswick, there was a drop of 0.1 per cent, or about 1,052 people. Consultant David Campbell in Moncton said non-permanent residents were the main driver behind the change.
Nova Scotia
- Dalhousie University is taking on risk by leading a research and development initiative for onshore natural gas, says a former N.S. university president. On Monday, the province and Dalhousie announced a $30-million partnership that will see the university conduct research on natural gas deposits in the province, establish guidelines to develop the resource, issue a call for project proposals from private companies and evaluate them. The province would then negotiate agreements with companies.
- Nova Scotia Power is providing more information about the cyberattack on the utility earlier this year but is withholding details on the incident timeline and the immediate response. The utility submitted an incident report to the province’s energy board on Tuesday after the board requested Nova Scotia Power provide more details about several aspects of the breach before the end of the year.
Prince Edward Island
- Maritime Electric has officially filed plans with the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission for the rotating power outages it says may be necessary this winter to prevent a provincewide blackout. IRAC formally requested the plans in a letter to the utility’s CEO, Jason Roberts, dated Dec. 11. The regulator said it only learned about the potential for rolling outages, which Maritime Electric calls “load shedding,” through media coverage in late November.
- Egmont MP Bobby Morrissey says federal help for Prince Edward Island’s struggling oyster fishery is expected early in the new year. The industry has been severely impacted by MSX, a parasite first identified on the Island in July 2024. Another disease, dermo, was also detected in the province’s waters this summer. Neither disease poses a risk to humans, but both can be fatal for oyster populations.
Newfoundland and Labrador
- The head of Newfoundland and Labrador’s health authority says a review of invoices paid to a private travel nurse agency flagged by the province’s auditor general for possible billing fraud is coming soon. Pat Parfrey said he expects to receive the final audit report “in the near future,” though he did not provide specifics. The chief executive officer of Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services said it will be up to the provincial government to decide whether to make the report public.
- Newfoundland and Labrador’s registered nurses’ union is calling on families to stay vigilant about the care of their loved ones who find themselves in the health-care system this holiday season. Yvette Coffey, president of the province’s registered nurses’ union, said the provincial health authority needs to end its reliance on mandatory overtime to keep health-care services running. “It is a big, big potential for undue harm for the people who are in our care over this holiday season,” Coffey told CBC Radio’s On the Go.
Quebec
- Sonia Bélanger, who was junior health minister and the minister responsible for seniors, caregivers and social services, was sworn in Friday afternoon as Quebec’s new health minister. The move comes less than 24 hours after Christian Dubé announced he would be stepping down from his role as health minister Thursday afternoon. Bélanger, a trained professional nurse, first became a Member of the National Assembly for the riding of Prévost in the Laurentians in 2022.
- The Quebec Liberal Party leadership race will officially kick off on Jan. 12, 2026, after Pablo Rodriguez’s six-month tenure. His successor will be chosen on March 14, 2026. Marc Tanguay, MNA for LaFontaine, is currently serving as interim leader of the Official Opposition at the National Assembly. He resumed the post following Rodriguez’s resignation last Thursday amid the party’s internal crisis. Allegations surfaced against the party for illegal campaign donations to secure Rodriguez’s leadership win.
Ontario
- Ontario has signed a memorandum of understanding with New York to help the state develop nuclear technologies to meet growing energy demand and strengthen reliability and decarbonization in both jurisdictions. The new memorandum of understanding (MOU) establishes a deal between New York Power Authority (NYPA) and Ontario Power Generation (OPG) to collaborate on advancing nuclear energy technologies, including small modular reactors (SMRs) — which Ontario is currently building — and large-scale nuclear facilities, the province said in a release.
- Ontario parents are on edge as the Ford government confirms it will launch a review of underused schools in some school boards. It has fueled new concerns about what could happen to smaller specialty schools if the moratorium on school closures is lifted. Elizabeth Garkowski tells CityNews her children currently attend a small school that could potentially be on the chopping block. “Right now, my daughter is failing to receive some vital supports, and her education is suffering, and I think that should be the priority,” Garkowski. “Our kids are not a budget line.”
Manitoba
- Premier Wab Kinew says he’s not going to fulfil a 2023 election campaign promise to regulate gas prices in Manitoba. The promise, outlined in the New Democrats’ campaign platform, was to give the Public Utilities Board, which currently sets rates for electricity, natural gas and other services, “new powers to review, investigate and regulate retail gasoline prices in Manitoba.” After reviewing fuel regulations in the four Atlantic provinces and a discussion with some of his counterparts in that region, Kinew says he has decided to drop the idea.
- Premier Wab Kinew says Manitoba will hold a public inquiry as soon as 2026 into the former Progressive Conservative government’s post-election efforts to approve an environmental licence for sand-mining company Sio Silica. The premier said his NDP government will probably strengthen Manitoba’s lobbying rules in the wake of efforts in 2023 by outgoing premier Heather Stefanson and two of her cabinet ministers to green-light the mining proposal during the two-week caretaker period between the PC’s election-night loss and Kinew’s swearing-in ceremony.
Saskatchewan
- The Saskatchewan NDP’s pace in 2025 has been frenetic. It’s not uncommon for the party to hold three or four news conferences a day on different subjects, often in different regions of the province. That level of output is more fitting for an election campaign, and the plan — whether or not it is effective — is part of a conscious choice, NDP Leader Carla Beck says. In a year-end interview, Beck admitted people are correct when they say the party seems to already be in “election mode” only a year after the last vote.
- Premier Scott Moe has led the Saskatchewan Party through two consecutive elections, winning majority governments both times. However, the latest party leadership review showed that his approval has declined since the last election. In 2023, his support within the party was at 97 per cent. In November, the Saskatchewan Party said he had received “more than 80 per cent” support. The party insisted it could not reveal the full number this time, although it was happy to release the 2023 figure to the media. When asked why he remains committed to leading the party into an election that could come as late as 2028, Moe had a simple answer: “I see all the opportunities in the distance, but some very choppy waters in the near-term time when this province needs a steady hand,” he said during a year-end interview.
Alberta
- Alberta’s election agency announced Monday it has approved a proposed referendum question on the province separating from Canada. The question seeks a yes or no answer to: “Do you agree that the province of Alberta should cease to be a part of Canada to become an independent state?” Elections Alberta said the proponents – the Alberta Prosperity Project and its chief executive officer, Mitch Sylvestre – have until early January to appoint a financial officer for its petition campaign, after which signature collection can begin.
- Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she’s keeping in mind that there’s more than one way to get Alberta oil to the Pacific Coast. Smith said in a year-end interview with National Post that, while her “first preference” would be to build a new West Coast pipeline through northern British Columbia, she’s willing to look across the border if progress stalls. One possible route to the Pacific Ocean could be through the northwestern U.S. states of Montana, Idaho and either Washington or Oregon. “Anytime you can get to the West Coast, it opens up markets to get to Asia,” said Smith.
British Columbia
- The bargaining group that represents 67,500 health workers in British Columbia has voted 54.2 per cent in favour of a four-year agreement. The deal follows other contracts recently signed with the government, which include wage increases of three per cent each year, and the Facilities Bargaining Association says it also has gains in support for recruitment, retention and workplace safety. A statement from the Finance Ministry says the workers will also receive wage comparability adjustments in response to the 15 per cent wage cuts made in 2004 by the former Liberal government.
- Trevor Halford wants to put 2025 behind him. “My job is not to look in the rear-view mirror about what’s happened and try to cast judgment on any of that,” the B.C. Conservative interim leader said in a year-end interview with Black Press Media. Instead, Halford wants to use the upcoming leadership race to grow the party, even though he does not plan to run himself. Trending Woman caught on camera ruining Downtown Chilliwack Christmas lights with knife. Bystanders restrain alleged Okanagan sexual assault suspect until RCMP arrive “My job is to show some stability within this caucus and within this party and allow a very good leadership race to happen, which will grow this party and put us in a position to succeed,” he said.
Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut
- As Yukon continues to deal with a prolonged spell of extreme cold, emergency officials are advising people to be prepared in case of a power outage. Temperatures in Whitehorse have been hovering around -40 C and have dropped below -50 C in some communities. The mercury is expected to rise into the -20s in Whitehorse over the weekend. On Tuesday, the territory’s energy minister issued a statement saying the territory’s power grid was under “significant strain,” and suggested the potential for rolling blackouts in Whitehorse if the system were to buckle under that strain. Minister Ted Laking said that the territory reached an all-time record peak demand of 123 megawatts on Monday. He said the territory’s grid can produce about 140 megawatts, “in ideal conditions.”