Wasauksing, Henvey Inlet, Magnetawan, Shawanaga and Moose Deer Point among 11 communities working together in partnership called Energy Corridor First Nations

BARRIE — With a new hydro transmission line connecting southern and northern Ontario planned, several First Nations have signed an agreement with the province that the proposed transmission line will run 290 kilometres between Barrie and Sudbury, and is expected to create 9,000 jobs.

The project is part of the Ontario government’s stated plan to support the economy in the north by expanding and building on the mining sector and exports.

Wasauksing, Henvey Inlet, Magnetawan, Shawanaga, and Moose Deer Point are among 11 communities working together in a partnership called the Energy Corridor First Nations (ECFN).

The partnership is made up of signatories to the Robinson-Huron Treaty, the Williams Treaty and non-treaty First Nations as partners. The transmission line was the spark that brought together the members of the ECFN with a focus on this and related projects.

Moose Deer Point Chief Tracy Hendricks said the transmission line project “must be completed in true partnership with First Nations, and in a way that is consistent with our inherent rights, our deep responsibility to the land, and our rightful role in shaping the economic future of our territories.”

ECFN members met with Minister of Energy and Mines Stephen Lecce in December 2025, to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that strategizes how the project will create jobs and maintain a mutually beneficial partnership.

“The resulting MOU is precedent setting in that it was designed to provide guidance to Hydro One Networks on how to engage with and integrate our member First Nations from the very outset into the planning, design, construction, ownership and operation of this major transmission project,” ECFN operations manager Tracy Zanini said in an email.

The ECFN partnership also aims to “clear away unnecessary delays and roadblocks, and simultaneously advance prosperity in our communities through First Nation ownership and participation,” Zanini wrote.

While it is too early in the engagement process to determine what the new jobs will be or how many there will be, ECFN said it is “committed to ensuring that significant, meaningful and sustainable employment opportunities are created for our people throughout the entire life cycle of this project and its operation.”

Furthermore, ECFN members have consistently expressed that Indigenous traditional knowledge and expertise will be essential to the successful delivery of this project, according to Zanini.

Through the process, Hendricks said that the partners will “engage our communities to ensure our course remains guided by their wisdom and our sacred responsibility to this land.”

ECFN serves as a model for future partnerships and is committed to serving all First Nations whose territories are affected by this project and that they will continue to maintain open, respectful dialogue, wrote Zanini.

“By recognizing our shared responsibilities, opportunities and the needs of our communities, ECFN seeks to assert the power of the collective voice of our member First Nations to protect the inherent rights of our peoples and the well-being of future generations while demonstrating our capacity to work in true partnership to delivery important projects for a strong, thriving Ontario,” wrote Zanini.

Shania Tabobondung is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter with ParrySound.com. LJI is funded by the federal government.