First Annual NECBC Leahy Prize for premier cross-border energy partnerships recognizes Conference of N.E. Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers

BOXBOROUGH, Mass. --(BUSINESS WIRE)

The New England-Canada Business Council has selected the Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers as the recipient of the first annual Steve Leahy Energy & Innovation Collaboration Award.

Named for the late longtime NECBC board member and senior energy executive, the award was established to recognize extraordinary leadership, cooperation, and innovation in advancing cross-border energy initiatives and sustainable economic development.

In selecting the Governors and Premiers as the inaugural recipient, NECBC cited the Conference’s reconvening of the Northeast International Committee on Energy. NICE was founded in 1978 and, after a period of dormancy, revitalized and relaunched in September 2024 by the Governors and Premiers with a joint resolution supporting regional collaboration and planning on a wide range of energy issues.

The award will be officially presented to Premiers, Governors, and their designees at NECBC’s 33rd Annual U.S.-Canada Boston Executive Energy Conference, being held on November 19 and 20, 2025 at the Boston Seaport Hotel.

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, U.S. co-chair of the Governors and Premiers conference, said: "Our relationship with Canada has never been more important. We share common values, interests, and, for many of our residents, familial ties. My administration will continue to seek new ways to strengthen this relationship to increase energy supply, lower costs, create jobs and grow our economies. Thank you to the New England-Canada Business Council for this special recognition."

Tony Wakeham, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador and Canadian co-chair of the conference, said: “In these challenging times, the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers’ partnership demonstrates a joint commitment to growing our regional economies based on our unique strengths, including the energy sector. By working together, we have the opportunity to position ourselves as a reliable provider of affordable and responsible energy–today and into the future.”

NECBC President John W. Gulliver said: “Energy affordability and reliability and growing access to all kinds of energy are top priorities for all of the Eastern Canadian provinces and New England states. We are so grateful that our Premiers and Governors recognize and acted on the power of a renewed NICE to help us all work together to achieve our goals, doing all we can to maintain the strong, mutually beneficial ties our countries’ energy sectors have forged over decades.”

ABOUT THE NEW ENGLAND-CANADA BUSINESS COUNCIL

The mission of the New England-Canada Business Council (NECBC) is to advance business, political, and cultural relationships between Canada and the United States and to help members grow their cross-border professional networks. Founded in 1981, the NECBC is one of the leading non-profit organizations working to sustain and expand the strong and mutually valuable connections between New England and Canada.

Media: NECBC VP Peter J. Howe/Denterlein, [email protected] 617.482.0042

NECBC Executive Director David Ehrlich [email protected]

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