Throughout the Province’s public engagement, Basin residents and local governments have consistently voiced that they want a modernized Treaty that:

• continues to protect communities from damaging floods and enable the generation of clean renewable hydroelectricity;
• supports ecosystem health throughout the Basin;
• includes salmon restoration in the upper Columbia River;
• respects Indigenous knowledge and cultural values;
• considers social and economic interests such as recreation and transportation;
• reduces Treaty reservoir fluctuations;
• is able to adapt to future unknowns, such as the effects of climate change; and
• includes transboundary coordination of Libby Dam operations.

Residents have also voiced the need for First Nations’ participation in Treaty modernization, and the need for a modernized Treaty to reflect an equitable sharing of Treaty benefits, including benefits to U.S. irrigation, navigation, recreation and fisheries. These interests are all reflected in the AIP.

The purpose of gaining up to 5 million acre-feet of flexibility is to enhance ecosystems, Indigenous cultural values, and socio-economic objectives.  There is significant research and river management scenario modelling underway that is informing how best to use this new flexibility.  Part of that process includes looking at different Treaty reservoir elevations and flows throughout the year. Research to determine objectives for the modelling process is being led by the Ktunaxa, Secwépemc and Syilx Okanagan Nations in collaboration with federal and provincial governments, the Columbia River Treaty Local Governments Committee, and environmental non-governmental scientists and technical consultants. While the work is progressing well, alternative hydro system operations, known as Specified Operations (SO), are not yet fully developed.  Once this work is further advanced, there will be a separate engagement process in the Basin to explain what improvements are being planned in which areas, and to receive feedback.  Once the SO is determined, it will be integrated into Columbia River Treaty operation planning and must be implemented under the modernized Treaty.

The Columbia River Treaty has played a crucial role in reducing flood damage and providing clean energy to millions of households, businesses and industries in both Canada and the United States. These remain important elements of the agreement-in-principle (AIP). Under the AIP, countries have agreed that a modernized Treaty will provide a reduced level of assured pre-planned flood risk management and continued cooperation on hydropower generation for the Columbia River. The countries have also agreed to incorporate new provisions not considered in the original agreement, including those for increased unilateral flexibility for how B.C. operates its Treaty dams, ecosystem health and Indigenous cultural values, salmon population enhancement and reintroduction in the Canadian Upper Columbia Basin, adaptive management, new collaborative engagement on Kootenay river management, including Libby Dam operations and a Columbia River system-wide transboundary joint ecosystem and Indigenous and Tribal cultural values body. These added provisions reflect the interests voiced by B.C. Columbia Basin First Nations, local governments, and residents over more than a decade of engagement with the Province of British Columbia. The AIP supports a renewed approach to sharing benefits equitably between countries. It enables B.C. to continue receiving an equitable share of additional hydroelectric power potential in the U.S. as a result of how B.C. operates its Treaty dams, and includes new access to U.S. transmission infrastructure. It also provides annual indexed compensation from the U.S. for a reduced volume of reservoir space for flood risk management and for other benefits the U.S. receives, including benefits to irrigation, navigation, recreation, and fish population enhancements in the U.S. portion of the Columbia Basin. It’s important to note that the agreement-in-principle is not the new Treaty and is not legally binding. It is a framework that provides a clear roadmap for the countries to draft a modernized Treaty.

That is still to be determined.  Now that Canada and the U.S. have reached an AIP, there is still work to be done.  B.C.'s first priority was to engage with the Ktunaxa, Secwépemc and Syilx Okanagan Nations, Columbia Basin local governments and Basin residents about the agreement-in-principle and this process is still underway. There are other processes that need to take place on both sides of the border, including drafting of the Treaty text, seeking First Nations’ consent, obtaining approval by the B.C. government, and ratification by the U.S. and Canadian federal governments. There is no set date for when a modernized Treaty will come into effect. While the AIP is a significant step towards a modernized Treaty and lays out the foundation for what a renewed Treaty will include, it does not mean river and reservoir management will change right away.  Until a modernized Treaty has been finalized and brought into law, the current Treaty remains in place.

Negotiations have taken time because there are many interests to consider in B.C., Canada and in the U.S.  Both countries have taken the time needed to improve on a 60-year-old Treaty in need of renewal.  There were several stages to this process: reaching a common understanding among each member of the negotiation delegations of the original Treaty, its operations and challenges; sharing each country’s goals and objectives; laying out specific interests across a range of topics; developing, introducing and revisiting respective positions; and exchanging more than a dozen proposals. For the Canadian team, that means negotiating an agreement that reflects the interests and values of the Ktunaxa, Secwépemc and Syilx Okanagan Nations, local governments and residents, which are captured in the agreement-in-principle reached in July 2024.  There have been comprehensive technical studies, computerized river management modelling, and over a decade of engagement that has informed this process. Canada, B.C. and the Ktunaxa, Secwépemc and Syilx Okanagan Nations have been clear with the U.S. that a modernized Treaty must reduce the impacts that B.C. Basin communities and ecosystems have been experiencing since the Treaty came into force in 1964.  B.C. is not willing to accept an agreement unless it allows for improvements in the B.C. Basin. It is important to note that the agreement-in-principle is not a finalized modernized Treaty.  It provides an agreed upon roadmap for the negotiation teams to move forward on drafting a renewed Treaty and for B.C. to engage with the Columbia River Basin residents to seek feedback on the AIP and on next steps.  Until a modernized Treaty is ratified, the existing Treaty remains in effect.

If the Treaty is modernized in a way that reflects the agreement-in-principle, the combination of reduced pre-planned flood risk management and new Canadian flexibility would give B.C. more control over its Treaty dam operations and resulting river flows and reservoir levels to address impacts to ecosystems and communities. Following the modernized Treaty’s entry into force, Canada will provide the United States with 3.6 million acre-feet (MAF) of pre-planned flood risk management (FRM), a 60% reduction from the current 8.95 MAF.  Arrow Lakes Reservoir would continue to provide the 3.6 MAF of FRM storage as it is the closest reservoir to the border and therefore the most effective in responding to the Columbia freshet; however, Kinbasket and Duncan Reservoirs would no longer need to be operated to meet planned U.S. FRM requirements. The new Canadian flexibility under the AIP would allow Canada to unilaterally decide to reduce the current coordinated power storage of 15.5 MAF by up to 5 MAF, or almost a third of the Treaty storage space, for B.C.’s own domestic purposes.  Domestic flexibility may be used to address impacts resulting from the Treaty to ecosystems, Indigenous cultural values and socio-economic interests. There is significant research and river management scenario modelling underway that is informing how B.C. can best manage this new flexibility.  Part of that process includes looking at different flows and elevations throughout the year on Treaty reservoirs and river sections.  Research to determine objectives and operational scenarios for the modelling process is being led by the Ktunaxa, Secwépemc and Syilx Okanagan Nations in collaboration with federal and provincial governments, the Columbia River Treaty Local Governments Committee, and environmental non-governmental scientists and technical consultants. Once options for changes in Treaty hydrosystem operations using the new flexibility are identified, B.C. will hold a separate public engagement process with Basin communities to get their feedback.

Legal drafting of a modernized Treaty will take time.  We have been clear with the U.S. about our commitment to engage with Basin First Nations, local governments and residents so they can provide feedback on an AIP before a modernized Treaty is finalized.  This commitment has been underway since the AIP was achieved as the B.C. CRT Team has been accepting input since September 2024.  The feedback received is being considered by the Canadian negotiation delegation during the drafting process to modernize the Treaty. People were invited to share their thoughts through an online feedback form and by formal written submissions until March 31, 2025.  That process is now closed; however, comments and questions about the Treaty and the AIP are welcomed by email to columbiarivertreaty@gov.bc.ca. In-person community meetings will be scheduled in the B.C. Columbia Basin to seek further feedback from residents.  Those sessions, originally planned for early in 2025, will be confirmed once there is more clarity about next steps on the path to modernizing the Treaty.  Negotiations between Canada and the U.S. to modernize the Treaty are currently paused, as the U.S. administration conducts a broad review of its international engagements.