Federal-provincial meetings: P.E.I. Premier Wade MacLauchlan upbeat

P.E.I. Premier Wade MacLauchlan was upbeat after a morning of meetings Monday with fellow premiers and new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the first formal sit-down of its kind since 2009.

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​"It's night and day," said MacLauchlan of the new PM's willingness to collaborate with the provinces. 

"We've got a good story to bring to the table. We've got about 80 per cent of our electricity generated by wind, when the wind is blowing ... And we've got about another 10 per cent from biomass."

The agenda isn't just about saying, "What's your target?"— P.E.I. Premier Wade MacLauchlan

MacLauchlan notes P.E.I. started creating renewable energy back in the 1970s, and has stayed on that track. 

"What we need now is to be working together with others [on] storage technology, investments. Getting the right breakthrough will be a huge thing," he said. 

He said the province is now paying attention to rising sea levels and erosion.

"The agenda isn't just about saying 'What's your target?'," MacLauchlan said.

He added that P.E.I. was part of an agreement this past summer among the five eastern provinces and six New England states to reduce emissions by 35 to 45 per cent by 2030.

MacLauchlan is proud of P.E.I.'s track record: he pointed out the Island's per-person emissions are 12 tonnes annually, the second-lowest after Quebec, and the province's major industry — Irving-owned Cavendish Farms in New Annan — has been able to reduce carbon emissions by creating energy from biomass and natural gas. 

"I think we can go to Paris with a common posture, and then with a plan to keep working together, because this is only the start," said MacLauchlan.

He said he's also looking at drumming up business for Island companies while in Paris.