OPINION: CBRM may have already lost the race for investment to the Strait

While Cape Breton Regional Municipality council was squabbling over CBRM land originally slated to be part of Novaporte and publicly calling for each other to be arrested by the RCMP, economic development opportunities have shifted decisively toward the Strait of Canso.

This is good news for the Strait but bad news for Sydney.

How have they pulled it off?

The commercial and political leadership in the Strait presents a welcoming and coherent front to investors. There is none of the crazy antics and divisive politics we witness in CBRM. It’s not complicated; investment abhors the very uncertainty and conflict CBRM seems to thrive on.

The Strait has one other advantage: it has rail.

Sydney has come close to restoring its vital rail several times in recent years but opposition from Halifax and lack of support from CBRM council have made it difficult.

Not only was council mute but the chamber of commerce did little to help.

Rail is the key to the port, and the port is the key to CBRM’s prosperity, yet those expected to champion this cause are too busy fighting one another to care. Shame on them.

The recent announcement of a $10 billion AI investment in the Strait area is the latest success.

Two years ago, agents for the Port of Sydney were engaged with US AI hyper-scalers and making progress. Then the wheels fell off the port’s development efforts because council threw the Novaporte project into uncertainty with a land dispute that was little more than a power struggle over who would claim the spoils. This cloud still hangs over the port today and council is in no hurry to resolve it because it feeds political headlines.

Two years of chaos is a long time to be off the field in terms of investment and development. The sad news is CBRM may have already lost the race for investment.

Even if the dysfunction were removed today, it is already too late.

Consider this stunning list of investments in the Strait area:

· EverWind Point Tupper AI data centre and energy complex — C$10 billion proposed. Announced development plan; includes AI infrastructure and renewable energy.

· EverWind renewable energy portfolio — US$175 million. Institutional financing announced from Nuveen; part of wider EverWind development platform.

· Goose Harbour Lake Wind Farm — Approximately C$450 million. Financing reported; construction underway.

· Bear Head Energy hydrogen/export development — More than US$130 million historically reported. Historical site and development expenditure; hydrogen export facility not yet operational.

· Point Tupper green hydrogen/ammonia facilities — Multibillion-dollar potential; no confirmed final figure. Proposed; overlaps with EverWind platform.

· Strait offshore-wind port and marine infrastructure — No confirmed project-wide investment figure. Planning and development opportunities.

· EverWind existing Point Tupper terminal and development operations — Approximately C$200 million reportedly invested to date. Existing assets and development activity; may overlap with other EverWind amounts.

· EverWind Guysborough wind expansion — Up to 2.5 GW proposed capacity; investment value not confirmed. Proposed; not all generation would be geographically within the Strait.

· Strait Crossing Transmission Line — Investment amount not disclosed. Proposed transmission infrastructure

· Maritime Launch Services spaceport, near Canso — C$200 million federal lease commitment over 10 years was reported in March 2026. This is outside the Strait of Canso proper and should not be counted in a Strait-only total.

The Strait has also made a deliberate effort to turn its existing railway connections into an industrial investment advantage. The evidence is clearest in the marketing of rail-served industrial properties, development of marine-to-rail logistics, and regional infrastructure planning. Good for them.

If, as the saying goes, “the ship has already sailed” for CBRM, then council and the chamber have a lot to answer for to both history and the community.

Josephine Kennedy

Main-a-Dieu