Canada working with Biden team to finalize B.C. river treaty before Trump takes office

Top officials in both Canada and the United States are pushing the need to finalize the Columbia River Treaty to manage water flowing between the two countries before the administration change in America.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly told reporters in Lima, Peru, that much can be accomplished to get the treaty passed through Congress before president-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20.

Joly is attending an APEC meeting in Peru and says she met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday to discuss the importance of a clear agreement between the two countries on water management on the West Coast.

She said she thinks there can be bipartisan support for the treaty after an agreement in principle was signed with the Biden administration in June, calling it a "key objective." 

WATCH | Leaders reach tentative deal on Columbia River: 

New Columbia River Treaty deal agreed upon in principle by Canada and U.S.

5 months ago

Duration 2:37

Today marks a milestone in the modernization of the Columbia River Treaty. The Canadian and U.S. governments have finally reached an agreement-in-principle after the years-long effort to update the transboundary agreement. But as CBC's Corey Bullock reports, residents are still waiting to hear the details of the plan. CBC's video has been edited to remove footage that inaccurately included the Sinixt in Washington state who were not involved in the treaty and have voiced concerns about it.

"We think it's a win-win situation for both sides of the border. British Columbia is on board, First Nations are on board, and we know we have the support of key senators, also on the American side," she said.

Blinken's office said in a statement that the meeting with Joly "reiterated the need for the United States and Canada to finalize a modernized Columbia River Treaty." 

There are concerns that the incoming Trump administration may undo the progress made in negotiations so far.

At a news conference in September, Trump claimed that Canada had "essentially a very large faucet" that was sending water into the Pacific Ocean but that it could be turned around to send water "right into Los Angeles" to help with natural disasters.

While it's not immediately clear where Trump stands on the treaty, once he is in the White House he has the ability to kill it, even if there's bipartisan support, by directing the new Republican majority leader not to bring it to the Senate floor, said Matthew Lebo, a specialist in U.S. politics at Western University in London, Ont..

Lebo said "generally, if the Democrats want something passed and they can get 50 votes now, they should move fast." 

A deal dating back to the 1960s

The Columbia River flows almost 2,000 kilometres from the Canadian Rockies, through southeast British Columbia and across the border into Washington state before emptying into the Pacific Ocean on the Washington-Oregon border.

The watershed generates vital hydroelectricity courtesy of 60 dams on the main stem and tributaries, supplying almost half of B.C.'s total hydroelectric power and more than 40 per cent of the U.S. total.

River water flow and the sharing of the electricity and money generated from it is governed by the treaty, which came into effect in 1964.

In 2022, B.C. received roughly $420 million in Canadian entitlements from power generation at U.S. dams based on water flows from Canada. 

The two countries have been working to negotiate an updated treaty since, and several First Nations and Indigenous groups also lay claim to the water.

In June, Prime Minster Justin Trudeau and President Joe Biden announced an agreement in principle to modernize the treaty, which Trudeau said would allow continued flood-risk management and co-operation on hydro power on the river.

LISTEN | Back-and-forth on the Columbia River: 

The House18:45Canada haggles with the U.S. over a shared river

As Canada and the U.S. renegotiate an old treaty controlling the flow of the Columbia River in British Columbia, freelance journalist Bob Keating explores how the agreement has shaped the people and places along the river’s edge. Then, Kathy Eichenberger, B.C.’s treaty negotiator, sits down with host Catherine Cullen to discuss Canada’s priorities for the new pact.