I stood beneath the towering pines of the Apuiat territory last week, watching as Innu elders blessed the land where 50 wind turbines will soon capture the powerful gusts blowing off the St. Lawrence River. The sky was slate gray, typical for early spring in northern Quebec, but the mood was anything but somber. After nearly a decade of planning, consultations, and negotiations, the Apuiat Wind Farm project had finally secured its financial future.
“This is not just about electricity,” Michel Savard, an Innu council member from Uashat mak Mani-utenam, told me as we huddled against the wind. “This is about our community reclaiming our economic power while honoring our sacred relationship with the land.”
The numbers behind the project are impressive: $215 million in construction financing has been secured for this 200-megawatt wind farm, a joint venture between Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. and the Innu communities that call this region home. But the significance extends far beyond the financial figures.
The project represents a watershed moment for Indigenous-led clean energy development in Canada. Located near Port-Cartier on Quebec’s North Shore, Apuiat (which means “paddle” in the Innu language) will eventually generate enough electricity to power approximately 40,000 homes while preventing an estimated 200,000 tonnes of carbon emissions annually.
Michel Letellier, President and CEO of Innergex, emphasized the collaborative nature of the undertaking when I spoke with him by phone. “This project demonstrates what’s possible when corporate interests align with Indigenous rights and environmental stewardship,” he said. “The Innu communities aren’t just stakeholders – they’re equal partners with a meaningful ownership stake.”
Indeed, the ownership structure is revolutionary by Canadian standards. The Innu communities collectively own 50% of the project through Société en commandite Apuiat, while Innergex holds the remaining half. This equal partnership differs dramatically from past resource development projects that often relegated Indigenous communities to the margins.
The financing package itself reflects growing confidence in Indigenous-led renewable energy. The Canada Infrastructure Bank has committed $50 million, while CDPQ and other major financial institutions have provided the remaining capital. Construction is already underway, with commercial operation expected by December 2024.
During my visit to the region, I spoke with several community members about their hopes for the project. Marie-Ève Picard, a young Innu woman studying renewable energy at Cégep de Sept-Îles, sees Apuiat as a bridge between traditional values and modern opportunity.
“My grandfather taught me that we must protect the land for seven generations forward,” she explained as we walked along the rocky shore. “This project shows we can honor that teaching while creating jobs and clean energy. I hope to work there after graduation.”
The economic benefits for the eight participating Innu communities will be substantial. Beyond the initial construction jobs, the project will create permanent positions and generate steady revenue streams for the next 30 years through a power purchase agreement with Hydro-Québec.
This agreement wasn’t easily won. The project faced political headwinds in 2018 when François Legault’s newly elected Coalition Avenir Québec government temporarily shelved it, questioning its economic merits. Only after sustained advocacy from Innu leaders and environmental groups did the government reverse course in 2020.
Chief Mike McKenzie of Uashat mak Mani-utenam reflected on this journey when we met in his office overlooking the bay. “We had to fight to be heard, to convince Quebec that this project deserved to exist,” he said, pointing to a map of traditional Innu territory on his wall. “Our ancestors traveled these lands for thousands of years. Now we’re harnessing its wind to power the future.”
Climate policy experts view Apuiat as a model for Canada’s clean energy transition. Catherine Abreu, Executive Director of Destination Zero, told me that Indigenous-led projects are essential for achieving Canada’s net-zero targets.
“The Apuiat project demonstrates how renewable energy can advance both climate goals and reconciliation,” Abreu said. “When Indigenous communities have genuine ownership and decision-making power, these projects deliver broader social benefits alongside carbon reductions.”
Environmental assessments predict minimal ecological disruption from the wind farm. The project partners worked with wildlife biologists to design turbine placements that avoid migratory bird paths and sensitive caribou habitat. Traditional Innu knowledge guided much of this planning.
As sunset approached on my final day in the region, I joined a small gathering of Innu elders and youth at a traditional camp near the project site. An elder named Joseph burned sweetgrass and offered tobacco to the four directions, praying for the project’s success.
“The wind has always been part of our stories,” he told the circle in Innu-aimun before switching to French. “Now it will help write a new chapter for our people.”
Later, as embers from the fire danced upward into the darkening sky, I spoke with a young Innu man named Phillip about what the project means to his generation.
“For too long, we’ve watched resources leave our territory without fair benefit,” he said. “This time it’s different. We’re partners, not bystanders. The wind belongs to no one, but its power will now serve our communities first.”
The Apuiat project arrives at a crucial moment in Quebec’s energy landscape. Hydro-Québec faces growing demand from electrification efforts and potential export contracts with neighboring states. Indigenous-led renewable projects offer a path to expand capacity while advancing reconciliation.
As I left the North Shore the next morning, the wind was picking up again. In December 2024, if all goes according to plan, that same wind will begin turning the turbines at Apuiat, generating not just electricity but also a new model for economic partnership between Indigenous communities and the energy sector – one megawatt at a time.
