US pauses water-sharing negotiations with Canada over Columbia River

The United States has paused negotiations with Canada on a key water-sharing treaty as Donald Trump continues both his threats to annex his northern neighbour and to upend major agreements governing relations between the two counties.

British Columbia’s energy ministry said officials south of the border were “conducting a broad review” of the Columbia River Treaty, the 61-year-old pact that governs transnational flood control, power generation and water supply.

The sprawling Columbia River, which originates in south-eastern British Columbia and terminates in the Pacific Ocean on the Oregon-Washington border, is one of the largest watersheds on the continent. The immense volume of water that moves along its 1,200-mile (1,900km) route produces roughly 40% of US hydroelectric power and nearly half the hydropower in BC.

Under the terms of the agreement, Canada must control the flow of the Columbia River through its network of dams to ensure US hydropower generators receive enough water and to prevent flooding. Those benefits are worth roughly $200m (C$288m) annually for the province. For its part, the US must also give Canada half the additional potential hydroelectric power produced by dams, which it sells at market rate.

Despite a concerted push on both sides to finalize a deal before Trump took office, however, the final details of the treaty remain unfinished, with only a three-year interim agreement in place.

In recent weeks, Trump has taken an increasingly combative stance towards Canada, calling its border “imaginary”, musing about inflicting “historic financial devastation” on a longtime ally and threatening to tear up the myriad treaties between the two countries.