Leaders spar over Quebec energy deal as Newfoundland and Labrador campaign begins

ST. JOHN’S — The leaders of Newfoundland and Labrador’s largest political parties took shots at once another on Monday over a draft energy deal with Quebec as campaigns began for a general provincial election on Oct. 14.

Liberal Leader John Hogan bookended a speech at the party’s campaign launch with stirring lines about the bright future ahead after the two provinces’ hydro utilities sign binding final agreements, which are expected next year.

“It’s an opportunity that Newfoundland and Labrador has been waiting for 50 years,” he told a crowd of about 100 Liberal supporters at a golf course in St. John’s. “The future is finally in our hands. Let’s embrace it, let’s protect it, and let’s build a stronger, fairer, safer Newfoundland and Labrador.”

Tony Wakeham, the leader of the Progressi