Nova Scotia, New Brunswick agree to split $650M Chignecto Isthmus project with feds

Ottawa, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have agreed to split costs on the Chignecto Isthmus project.

After months of negotiations and a court case, the federal and Nova Scotia and New Brunswick governments have agreed to split the $650-million protections for the Chignecto Isthmus down the middle.

Nova Scotia and New Brunswick will each pay $162.5 million for the project – $325 million in total – while Ottawa will foot the rest of the bill, according to a news release from the federal government.

The three Maritime provinces have long argued the federal government should pay for the entire project, taking the case to the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal. Last week the court said it would reserve its decision on the matter after hearing arguments from both sides.

Last September the federal government said it would move on to fund other projects if the Nova Scotia and New Brunswick governments did not agree to a 50/50 split on the Isthmus.

The Isthmus is a narrow 24-kilometre strip of land that connects Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and includes the Trans-Canada Highway, CN Rail line, electrical transmission lines and fibre-optical cables.

It currently has roughly 35 kilometres of dikes that protect roads, railways, farms and communities such as Sackville, N.B., and Amherst, N.S. It was originally installed in the late 1600s.

“Protecting the Chignecto Isthmus is a priority for the federal government as this corridor plays a crucial role in the economy of our region,” said Dominic LeBlanc, minister of International trade and Intergovernmental Affairs, in the release. “This project will create good jobs, protect key supply chains, and make communities on both sides of the New Brunswick-Nova Scotia border stronger and more resilient for generations to come.”

In a separate news release, New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt called the agreement a “necessary partnership” for the land corridor.

“This announcement provides much-needed certainty and security for the people living in the region and presents us with a major project and economic opportunity for New Brunswick business,” she said. “However, this is only the first step in implementing a long-term climate mitigation solution for the Chignecto Isthmus.”

The project will raise the dikeland to decrease the risk of flooding amid storm surges and sea level rise. Coastal sinking is forecasted to threaten the current dikes before 2100.

The project will take approximately 10 years to complete.

“It’s an essential trade corridor for our country with roughly $100 million worth of goods and services crossing it every single day,” said Kody Blois, minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. “Our region is no stranger to the effects of climate change and the devastating impacts that can come from severe weather and flooding.”

-With files from The Canadian Press