Quebec assistant deputy minister says she has told new ministers to protect U.S. market access

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Quebec is seeking to protect its trade relationship with the United States following U.S. midterm elections that handed Democrats control of Congress, according to Marie-Claude Francoeur, Quebec assistant deputy minister for the Americas and the Indo-Pacific region.

Francoeur said she has already delivered the message to new ministers in the Parti Québécois government, as the province looks to maintain its hydroelectric exports to the U.S. Eastern Seaboard.

Speaking at an energy conference in Montreal on Thursday, Francoeur said, "It remains an important relationship. We have a new government (in Quebec), we have briefings with new ministers, and I've explained how important safeguarding access to American markets is to our industries," adding, "It will be fun when it's settled a bit — we're just excited, because there are some things you just can't export elsewhere."

Francoeur made the comments during a session at the conference on energy and geopolitics, alongside Catherine Loubier, a former Quebec government representative in New York.

The province’s hydroelectricity utility, Hydro-Québec, has contracts to export energy to New England and New York state, and this summer it activated a transmission line bringing energy to New York City.

Francoeur also said that the value of trade with "middle powers" in Europe is equivalent to trade with some American states, and that "It's a relationship we have to preserve."

Loubier said the U.S. midterm election results will create more predictability for the energy industry, while also giving Canada an opportunity to rebuild ties with Americans in the sector. She said, “We should run to the other side of the border to meet newly elected officials once they’re sworn in on Jan. 3,” after the session.

Loubier and Francoeur said the energy sector has been mostly shielded from tariffs, but they expect Canadian officials to keep navigating protectionist trade policies, including through cross-border cooperation on energy security.