Despite an informal pause in formal negotiations between Canada and the United States over the Columbia River Treaty modernization, both sides want to get a deal done, according to Adrian Dix, the B.C. Minister responsible for the treaty.
"People on both sides of the border support the renewal of the Columbia River Treaty. It's in everybody's interests to proceed," said Dix. "It has support from U.S. Republicans and U.S. Democrats, so we're going to continue to work on that."
According to Dix, the U.S. is holding off on advancing the talks in order to review the federal government's international engagement — a typically standard review after a new government is elected.
However, U.S. President Donald Trump has increasingly attacked Canadian soverignty by referring to Canada as the "51st state" and threatening economic annexation.
"In this case, clearly that pause — and negotiations are paused — is combined with these vicious attacks on our country, by the Trump administration and the [B.C.] Premier and other premiers and the Prime minister and all Canadians are responding to that," said Dix.
Despite the formal negotiations being on hold, the treaty is governed by interim agreements that were announced last summer with some provisions that run till 2044 for power compensation while pre-planned flood risk management operations are in place for the next three years.
The core principle keeps the current terms of the treaty intact, while implementing some of the new elements that were identified in an Agreement-in-Principle (AIP) that was reached between both countries last year as part of the modernization efforts. The AIP between Canada and the U.S. essentially laid out a framework of policy and principles as part of an updated treaty.
"We're moving forward on all that, but we're concerned and we're prepared for any action the government might take, and the kind of actions the American government might take has changed in the last few weeks and months," said Dix. "You have the president constantly speculating on annexing our country and we're going to fight that everywhere, including these negotiations."
Both Canada and the U.S. have held formal negotiations since 2018 to update the decades-old water sharing agreement, while B.C. engagement with Columbia Basin residents and First Nations goes back over a decade.
"We continue our work with British Columbia and First Nations partners on CRT issues and stand ready to resume negotiations with U.S. counterparts," reads a statement from Global Affairs Canada.
There is no end date to the treaty, however, there is a 10-year period that is required if either side decides to unilaterally terminate it.
The original Treaty was a water sharing agreement ratified between Canada and the United States in 1964.
It facilitated the construction of three dams in B.C. — Duncan, Mica and Keenleyside — as well as the Libby dam in Montana in the U.S.
The treaty itself has no end date but either country can unilaterally terminate the agreement from September 2024 onward, along as at least 10 years notice is given.
A key aspect of the re-negotiations was the inclusion of Columbia Basin Indigenous Nations — Ktunaxa Nation, Syilx Okanagan and Secwépemc — in the Canadian negotiating team. Along with U.S. tribal government counterparts, Indigenous leaders led the way on the inclusion of ecosystem values and framing the Columbia River as a one-river system as part of the treaty modernization.
Under the terms of the AIP, there were a number of proposals that focused on flood risk management, Canadian flexibility, power coordination and transmission, compensation, power benefit sharing and ecosystem considerations.
A key element of the current treaty is the Canadian Entitlement, which is Canada’s half-share of the downstream power benefits that is paid through the provision of hydroelectric power and worth approximately $120 million annually.
On March 25, Dix will be hosting a virtual public info session alongside MLAs Brittny Anderson, (Kootenay Central) and Steve Morissette (Kootenay Monashee) and Kathy Eichenberger, B.C.'s lead negotiator in the Canadian delegation.
The session will take place from 7-8 p.m. (Mountain Time) on Zoom and a recording will be available afterwards. Questions can be sent in advance by Tuesday, March 18, 2025, to columbiarivertreaty@gov.bc.ca.
Anyone interested in attending can register here.
With files from Wolf Depner
