Churchill Falls Labrador Corporation Limited

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The Churchill Falls (Labrador) Corporation [CF(L)Co] was originally formed in 1958 as a subsidiary of British Newfoundland Development Corporation (BRINCO) and known as the Hamilton Falls Power Corporation, it built and operated the Churchill Falls hydro electric complex.

In 1961 the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador granted the Hamilton Falls Power Corporation a 99 year lease to the 67,340 square kilometers watershed of the Upper Churchill. The Hamilton Falls Power Corporation became to be known as the Churchill Falls Corporation in 1965 when the name of the falls was changed to commemorate the life of Sir Winston Churchill.

CFLCo began construction on Churchill Falls in 1966 and by 1974 it had completed the project. In 1974 the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador purchased a controlling interest in CFLCo from BRINCO and turned it over to the Newfoundland and Labrador Power Commission. The Commission had a 65.8% share in the corporation and the remaining 34.2% was owned by Hydro Quebec.

In 1967, the year CFLCo qualified for Crown Corporation status, the Newfoundland and Labrador Government initiated proceedings in the Newfoundland Supreme Court to recall 800 megawatts (MW) of the Churchill Falls power from CFLCo based upon the lease granted to the corporation in 1961. By 1980 the case had not been resolved, and in that year the Newfoundland Legislature passed the Upper Churchill Water Rights Reversion Act to reclaim the water rights granted to the corporation. The Act was not proclaimed since its validity had not been ruled on by the Newfoundland Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of Canada.