Tag: Muskrat Falls

This article examines how political extremes have become the “new normal” in Newfoundland and Labrador, tracing their roots to fiscal bailout politics, the cod fishery collapse, and decades of boom–bust resource cycles. Economist Xinli Guo shows how soft budget constraints normalize fiscal brinkmanship, while Jessica Hogan’s comprehensive research links memories of the cod collapse, hydro megaproject overruns, mining bankruptcies, and offshore oil volatility to a cultural mindset of “sceptical optimism.” Combined with entrenched patronage politics and weak local institutions, these forces recast consensus as compliance and dissent as disloyalty, leaving communities trapped in cycles of hope and betrayal. The article argues that extremes are not random outbursts but systemic outcomes of Newfoundland’s political economy, and that naming this “unhinged” playbook is the first step toward restoring trust in moderation. Read More...

World Energy GH2 was promoted as Newfoundland’s leap into a clean-energy future, but it follows a well-worn cycle. From the cod collapse to Churchill Falls, Muskrat Falls, and offshore oil, megaprojects have been sold as salvation only to leave behind dependency, debt, and distrust. This article shows how WEGH2 repeated the pattern: weak municipal councils, shaped by soft budget constraints, lacked the power to push back; critics were sidelined as silence was branded “acceptance”; and Crown land was locked up before markets cooled. With the hydrogen boom faltering, communities now face the harm stage — stranded land and fading promises. Breaking this cycle will require stronger governance, transparent land use, and space for dissent, or Newfoundland risks adding hydrogen to its long list of hype-to-harm legacies. Read More...

This article examines how treaties and colonial paperwork in Newfoundland and Labrador have long served as tools of leverage for external powers rather than protections for local communities. From imperial agreements to the Churchill Falls contract, Muskrat Falls overruns, and the cod moratorium, paperwork has repeatedly shielded higher authorities while embedding risk and dependency at the local level. Today’s wind-hydrogen projects follow the same trajectory: communities are invited into consultation but left without enforceable leverage. The result is symbolic recognition on paper, but little in the way of material empowerment. Read More...

This article examines how the Port au Port wind-to-hydrogen project exemplifies manufactured consent in Newfoundland and Labrador. Drawing on the Local Paradox framework, municipal dependency research, and the legacy of the cod collapse, Churchill Falls, Muskrat Falls, and offshore oil, it shows how structural weakness, historical trauma, and consultation rituals combine to greenwash global agendas as local opportunity. Port au Port is framed not as a community-led vision, but as an echo of elsewhere’s priorities — Berlin’s hydrogen demand, Ottawa’s climate branding, and corporate strategies — imposed on fragile institutions and vulnerable populations. Read More...

This article argues that Newfoundland is trapped in a cycle of repetition: crises are framed as opportunities for “resets,” but the language, promises, and outcomes are the same every time. From resettlement and Churchill Falls to Muskrat Falls and the “Big Reset,” the province rehearses the same narratives of crisis and rescue rather than building new strategies. Municipal bailouts reinforce this cycle by rewarding dependence, while centralized politics and performative culture keep institutions weak. The result is stagnation — Newfoundland isn’t moving forward but re-performing the past. The piece closes by linking this cycle to political candidates themselves, setting the stage for the upcoming Kingmaker article. Read More...