The election of a PC majority in Newfoundland and Labrador has caused ripples of concern in Quebec about the future of a hydro deal between the two provinces.

Joel-Denis Bellevance of La Presse says while Premier Francois Legault is putting his best face forward, nervousness is growing, not only in Quebec, but Ottawa as well.

Bellevance told the Tim Powers Show on VOCM, Prime Minister Mark Carney was a “secret cheerleader” of the MOU.

He says the federal government was “ready to put some money on the table to help finance construction of the lines through Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador, because it was in the national interest, and would help improve the environmental record of the Canadian government in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. There’s a lot at stake in that deal,” says Bellevance, “and now there’s some doubt about the future of that deal.”

Bellevance says with Francois Legault facing a general election next fall, and with low polling numbers, it’s unlikely a similar deal can be reached with a possible PQ government in Quebec. He says he can’t blame the new NL premier for trying to get the best deal possible for the province, but he says if this deal falls through, any new renegotiation may have to wait until the current contract runs out in 2041. “That’s the risk that’s in front of all of us,” says Bellevance.