U.S. pauses Columbia River Treaty talks as trade tensions grow, B.C. minister says

The Canadian Press

· Posted: Mar 11, 2025 6:57 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

B.C.'s Energy Ministry says the United States has paused negotiations with Canada connected the wide-reaching Columbia River Treaty that regulates everything from flood power and powerfulness procreation to h2o proviso and salmon restoration successful the region.

The ministry says successful a quality merchandise that U.S. President Donald Trump's medication "is conducting a wide reappraisal of its planetary engagement."

The 2 countries reached an in-principle woody connected a caller mentation of the decades-old pact past July, and portion officials from some countries pushed for its finalization earlier Trump took bureau successful January, the treaty's destiny remains unsettled.

The Columbia River's headwaters are successful British Columbia earlier it flows down into the states of Washington and Oregon.

"If radical cognize B.C.'s history, [the treaty] is simply a important portion of the modern past of B.C.," Energy Minister Adrian Dix said connected Tuesday.

The stoppage successful talks comes amid commercialized tensions betwixt Canada and the United States, and the Globe and Mail paper reported that Trump called the pact unfair to the United States successful a telephone with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau successful February.

Last year, Trump mused astir a "very ample faucet" that could beryllium diverted to the U.S. While the faucet is fiction, questions astir what volition hap adjacent for the 61-year-old h2o pact nether renegotiation are precise real.

WATCH | Columbia River Treaty renegotiation up successful the air: 

Dix said that multi-year talks connected the treaty, which tin span aggregate U.S. administrations, was considered portion of the mean people of affairs.

"But what isn't normal, of course, is immoderate of the musings of the president of the United States, with respect to British Columbia, with respect to Canada and our water," helium said.

The vigor curate says helium volition beryllium hosting a virtual accusation league to update residents astir the presumption of pact talks connected March 25 "in airy of caller developments from the U.S."

The ministry besides says it volition docket in-person assemblage meetings that were primitively planned for earlier this twelvemonth "once determination is much clarity astir adjacent steps connected the way to modernizing the treaty."

The archetypal pact was signed successful 1961 aft a flood successful 1948 devastated communities successful the region, and First Nations successful B.C. person been calling for the caller pact to enactment restoration of salmon runs that person been blocked by dams successful the United States.

WATCH | Sinixt privation a accidental successful pact renegotiations: 

Treaty termination takes 10 years

Since 1964, the treaty has required Canada to power the travel of the stream via dams to conscionable U.S. needs for hydropower and flood prevention. The pact besides obliges the U.S to give Canada fractional the further imaginable hydroelectric powerfulness produced by pact dams, which tin be sold astatine marketplace value.

Provisions expired successful September. A three-year interim statement is successful spot to let continued flood power operations and immoderate components of a caller agreement, but the renegotiated, modernized pact isn't yet finalized.

The Columbia River is the 4th largest watershed successful North America, flowing astir 2,000 kilometres from B.C's Columbia Lake into Washington State, entering the Pacific adjacent Astoria, Ore.

With immoderate 60 dams connected the stream and tributaries, it contiguous delivers much than 40 per cent of U.S. hydroelectric power, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, and about half the hydropower successful B.C.

Dix said that the pact continues to beryllium successful place, and it would instrumentality a decennary to extremity it outright — thing helium doesn't spot arsenic likely.

"This Columbia River Treaty is supported by members connected some sides of the border, successful some sides of of Congress successful the United States," helium said.

But helium added that Canada and B.C. would support their interests each azygous day, and "no magnitude of bluster" would alteration that.

"You person the president perpetually speculating connected annexing our country," helium said. "And we're going to combat that everywhere, including successful these negotiations."