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Provincial party leaders divided on what federal minority means for N.L.

With Newfoundland and Labrador sending six of seven Liberal MPs back to Ottawa, the province's political leaders don't agree on how a federal Liberal minority government will affect N.L. issues — especially Muskrat Falls.

Premier Dwight Ball said he spoke with MP-elect Jack Harris of the NDP — the sole non-Liberal elected in N.L. — on Tuesday morning, going over the province's biggest priorities, including a looming increase in electricity rates.

"Even though I'm a Liberal premier and Jack's an NDP MP we all wear the same jersey.… We wear the Newfoundland and Labrador jersey," he said.

Progressive Conservative Leader Ches Crosbie said Ball failed to nail down a plan with federal party leaders for help in Muskrat Falls rate mitigation.

"It's coming down on top of us within the next year, and we have only the vaguest kind of commitments from any of the party leaders," Crosbie said.

Eddy Kennedy/CBC
Eddy Kennedy/CBC

"It was the job of the premier to make it a ballot box issue to get actual concrete commitments from those parties or to campaign against them if they wouldn't give those, and he passed up that opportunity."

Crosbie said the province is going to struggle to stay afloat once ratepayers begin to front the bill for the controversial hydroelectric project.

During a brief campaign stop in the riding of St. John's East, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would not commit the federal government to providing $200 million a year to N.L. for rate mitigation.

"We will be there to support on rate mitigation, and I can tell you that we're working very hard on that, and we'll continue to work very hard on that with Dwight Ball," he said.

'Nothing is going to change'

Crosbie said the election results in N.L. enable the federal government to take the province for granted.

"I'm forecasting that nothing is going to change. We're going to be treated in a routine way, getting routine things from Ottawa, but our big problems like Muskrat Falls will remain unaddressed," he said.

"I think what you can see, though, is a movement and a base forming so that Conservative candidates have a much better platform for moving forward and winning seats in the next election."

Eddy Kennedy/CBC
Eddy Kennedy/CBC

Provincial NDP Leader Alison Coffin said Tuesday that Newfoundland and Labrador is in a better position to push for help on rate mitigation under a federal minority government.

"Certainly with the pressure from a minority government it means that you have to balance the policy objectives, you have to balance how you're going to spend your budget," said Coffin.

"This is a very important issue for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador and it could make or break our province. So we do need a firm commitment from the federal government."

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