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A power move in remote northwestern Ontario

This story about an effort to bring clean, reliable electricity to remote First Nations is 20 years in the making. Now, it’s time to celebrate
Bright lights, small towns
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Margaret Kenequanash, CEO of Wataynikaneyap Power, wears a ribbon skirt with the company’s logo on it. She stands in a group of men in front of a power station


Margaret Kenequanash has been dreaming of bringing reliable power to First Nations across northwestern Ontario since 2007. After nearly two decades of effort, that dream finally flickered into reality.

Sometimes, it doesn’t feel real,” the CEO of Watay Power told reporter Fatima Syed at a celebration in Sachigo Lake First Nation, north of Thunder Bay, near the Manitoba border. A transformer and transmission lines stretching off in the distance have fired up in the small community, and 23 others in the remote region.

In 2009, the nations across northwestern Ontario realized they were being left out of the provincial government’s plans to expand the hydroelectric grid. 

Diesel generators had long hummed in these communities, the fuel trucked in on ice roads, and they were looking for a better way to keep the lights on. 

Fatima has been “obsessed” with Watay Power since she first heard about the project two years ago. A month ago, she hopped on a plane (and then another plane and a bus) to visit Sachigo Lake, to see the transformer and transmission lines that now keep the lights on — and to learn about the hard work it took to get there.

There were blessings and speeches and a lot of chances to see just how big the impact of this electrification system will be, not least in the path the initiative charts for future energy projects. 

Map illustration shows the route of new power lines connecting remote communities in northern Ontario
🔗 This 1,800-km transmission line brings clean, reliable power to 24 remote First Nations — who also own most of it
The result of Fatima’s trip is this captivating feature, which draws you in right from the jump with maps by art and design fellow Kevin Ilango.

Across Canada, Indigenous communities are sparking clean energy projects with benefits extending far beyond providing power.

In B.C., a battery storage project in the works by Malahat Nation on south Vancouver Island could help shore up the province’s electricity grid while helping the nation grow its economy, secure its energy future and welcome people home.
 
🔗 Banking on batteries: Malahat Nation’s plans for energy self-determination could shore up B.C.’s grid

At The Narwhal, we talk a lot about solutions to the massive challenges that face the natural world, and balancing out that darkness with stories that bring light — sometimes even in a literal sense. We hope you’ll enjoy these ones.

Take care and step into your power,

Elaine Anselmi
Ontario bureau chief
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P.S. I hope you don’t mind me bragging a bit more about Fatima, because she was just named one of 12 SEAL Award recipients for 2024, recognizing excellence in environmental journalism around the world. Fatima was honoured for work that includes reporting on the future of energy in Ontario and the influence of fossil fuel companies in the province.

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A fish farm story on faraway shores


As if carried by an ocean current, nothing can stop The Narwhal’s recent reporting on B.C. fish farms from reaching distant parts of this planet. 

B.C. politics and environment reporter Shannon Waters collaborated with the Guardian to tell the story of salmon farming’s uncertain future; that report recently appeared in print in the U.S. edition of the Guardian Weekly, a news magazine that is distributed around the world.

Shannon also appeared this week on The Big Story podcast to share insights from her reporting trip to Clayoquot Sound — and on what’s to come with a federal ban on open-net pen fish farms set to take effect in 2029. Listen here


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What we’re reading


A Canadian charity has transformed a former golf course near Victoria into a nature sanctuary for people, plants and animals. That effort is part of a broader movement to rewild golf courses in North America, Josh Kozelj writes for The Tyee.

As Hurricane Milton approached the Florida coast, an atmospheric scientist broke down on live TV. John Morales didn’t expect his public display of emotion to go viral, but it did — revealing “a shared experience of climate anxiety across generations,” he writes in an opinion piece for the New York Times. 
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