The proposed Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link will provide electricity and broadband to several northern communities, including Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, pictured here in 2022.Fred Lum/the Globe and Mail
Arctic sovereignty is just a slogan unless Canada’s North gets its own electricity and broadband connections to the rest of the country, the proponent of a $3.2-billion hydro-fibre line from Manitoba to Nunavut says.
Anne-Raphaëlle Audouin, chief executive officer of Nukik Corp., the Inuit-owned company proposing the Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link, said the ambitious project has all of the elements that make it a solid candidate for Ottawa’s push to develop projects of national interest – especially strengthening resilience and security.
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Nunavut’s reliance on United States-imported fossil fuels and Elon Musk’s Starlink internet leaves much of the North vulnerable as the country seeks to develop critical mineral mines and increase its military presence in the region to bolster sovereignty, Ms. Audouin said in an interview. The project addresses both of those vulnerabilities, she said.
“It is very concerning to us because if the States turn their back on us in the North, we go dark, literally. There’s no optionality, there’s no other pathways, there’s no redundancy in any kind of critical system that been looked into or developed,” Ms. Audouin said.
“So, there’s a sense of urgency, not just carried by us as proponents, not just emphasized in the Kivalliq region of Nunavut. It’s the whole of that territory that is heading into a wall.”
What is the Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link?
As it stands, communities in Nunavut – and across most of Canada’s North – are reliant on diesel to fuel electricity generators. Much of that fuel is imported from the U.S. There is a growing movement to add wind, solar and battery projects to reduce that reliance, but fossil fuels remain a necessary backstop.
Similarly, Starlink has been providing Internet service to Nunavut with its low earth orbit satellite service for more than two years, in competition with Northwestel. BCE Inc. agreed to sell Northwestel to coalition of Indigenous companies for $1-billion, though a final deal remains in limbo.
The Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link would extend 1,200 kilometres to central Nunavut from northern Manitoba, comprising high-voltage power lines and fibre-optic cables. It is designed to serve Arviat, Whale Cove, Rankin Inlet, Chesterfield Inlet and Baker Lake.
In April, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew and Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok agreed to work together to further the project. Manitoba Hydro has set aside 50 megawatts of electricity in its planning process, and the two leaders called on Ottawa to “support capital funding for the KHFL and associated hydroelectric upgrades.”
Rankin Inlet-based Nukik, which is owned by the Kivalliq Inuit Association and Sakku Investments Corp., is planning to fund the project through a combination of federal programs, including the Canada Infrastructure Bank and the Indigenous Loan Guarantee. It is also seeking partners in the private-equity sphere.
Link might be combined with Port of Churchill project
The company has been waiting to meet with the federal government’s Major Projects Office until it has its funding in place, which it expects in the first quarter of next year.
However, navigating the process for designating proposals as being in the national interest has been frustrating to date, Ms. Audouin said.
A lingering point of confusion is whether the proposal – which has been in the works for many years – should be part of a major expansion of the Port of Churchill on Hudson Bay, or a stand-alone application.
The idea of pairing the projects was first brought up in a government list of 32 projects under consideration for fast-track approvals.
It said the Churchill expansion could include upgrades to its railway as well as funding for icebreakers and a transmission line to Nunavut. The government has since designated the concept as “Port of Churchill Plus,” which would include an energy corridor.
Ms. Audouin said Churchill is a key supply source for the Kivalliq region and there are long-standing ties. The government has not provided her with any information about the proposals being linked, however.
“I keep on hearing that it’s about an energy corridor, but by energy corridor do they mean LNG development and shipment from the Port of Churchill, or do they mean upgrading the existing transmission line to Churchill and taking it north, like Premier Kinew has advocated for?” she said.
“So there’s undoubtedly a disconnect here in terms of talking to the proponents about what the federal government exactly meant by Churchill Plus.”
Pierre-Alain Bujold, a spokesperson for the Major Projects office, said Port of Churchill Plus is “a transformative project” that has been referred to the office, which is charged with co-ordinating and streamlining approvals. But he declined to say whether the Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link could be part of it.
Next round of fast-tracked projects to be announced this week
Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Monday that the next tranche of proposals for the Major Project Office will be announced Thursday.
Arctic Gateway Group, which owns the Churchill Port, would welcome the hydro-fibre line as a participant in the multi-billion-dollar expansion, its CEO, Chris Avery, said.
The projects are complimentary – the port would play a crucial logistics role in building the hydro-fibre line and both would generate economic activity across the region.
“We remain in active discussions with all levels of government to advance this work,” he said in an e-mail.