A new agreement between Ontario First Nations, the federal government and the province will see 16 northern communities connected to the power grid.

The $1.6 billion project will be completed in 2023 and will shift the communities from dependence on diesel fuel for power to the provincial electricity grid.

Premier Kathleen Wynne says the Wataynikaneyap Power Grid Connection Project will be the largest Indigenous-led and Indigenous-owned infrastructure project in the province’s history.