Four things about Nova Scotia’s decision to approve Whale Sanctuary Project

The site for a proposed whale sanctuary is seen in an area south of Port Hilford, N.S., in an undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Whale Sanctuary Project (Mandatory Credit)

The Nova Scotia government has approved plans for construction of North America’s first coastal refuge for whales and dolphins retired from marine theme parks. Here are four things you need to know about the project.

MONEY -- Charles Vinick, CEO of the U.S.-based Whale Sanctuary Project, said it will cost about $15 million to build a 40-hectare underwater enclosure near Wine Harbour, N.S., which will hold up to 10 whales. Another $1.5 million will be required for annual operations.

Publicly available financial documents show that as of 2023, the non-profit group had US$1.8 million in revenues, US$1.9 million in expenses and US$1.7 million in cash.

Now that the project can move ahead, Vinick said private fundraising will go into high gear. The group is not seeking government money.

“Having approval of the Crown lease is a critical step, not only for us, but for all of our donors,” he said in an interview Wednesday from his home in Arizona. “Until we had a project that was real, it’s very difficult for donors to make a commitment. (And) we have a number of seven-figure donors.”

NEXT STEPS -- Money has already been set aside to buy 12 hectares of land around a wharf, where some buildings and other infrastructure will be assembled. A floating net will be installed to create an enclosure about the size of 40 football fields, next to a cove at the southern end of Port Hilford Bay.

But before the project can bring any whales or dolphins to the site, organizers will be required to get a permit from Transport Canada under the Navigable Waters Act, and transfer licences from the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Those licenses will be required for each whale or dolphin.

Vinick said Transport Canada has told him the department has all the information it needs. “I met with Transport Canada last week and they have no issues with our project,” he said.

The Whale Sanctuary Project, however, can’t receive any animals until the Fisheries Department is given the opportunity to examine them, he said.

MARINELAND BELUGAS -- The Whale Sanctuary Project is keen to offer a long-term home to 10 of the 30 belugas owned by Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ont., but there’s a problem.

The shuttered theme park is trying to move the whales because it says it doesn’t have the money to take care of them. In 2021, Marineland produced two studies accusing the Whale Sanctuary Project of failing to deal with pollution at the proposed site. As well, the theme park’s owners have said they don’t consider the Nova Scotia refuge as a viable option because it’s not yet up and running.

Vinick has dismissed these concerns, saying his group has spent the past three years drafting environmental studies and remediation plans, all of which have been met with provincial approval.

TIMELINE -- After a four-year search for a suitable site in either Washington State, British Columbia or Nova Scotia, the Whale Sanctuary Project announced its chosen location along Nova Scotia’s sparsely populated eastern shore in February 2020. At the time, Vinick said the plan was to open the refuge in 2022.

But the COVID-19 pandemic, regulatory hurdles and environmental concerns slowed the project’s progress. And for the past three years, it has been stalled by adjacent landowners who complained about losing access to the water.

Earlier this year, Nova Scotia’s natural resources minister said unanimous consent would be required before the project would be allowed to proceed. “There’s going to be an impact to waterfront properties,” Tory Rushton, minister at the time, said on March 18. “We want to ensure that we’re not infringing on anything, and that the project (proponents) are being open and transparent with those landowners.”

But on Wednesday, Vinick confirmed his group had failed to gain unanimous consent before Premier Tim Houston’s Progressive Conservative government quietly released a cabinet order the day prior approving a 20-year lease for 83 hectares of Crown lands and coastal waters.

On the same day, Houston shuffled his cabinet and tossed out three ministers, including Rushton.

The Natural Resources Department issued a statement Wednesday confirming the requirement for consensus had been dropped.

“Full consensus across any group on any issue is pretty difficult and we needed to get to a realistic place. There’s an incredible amount of support for the project in the area and across the province, and we thought there was enough to move forward with the lease,” the department said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2025.

By Michael MacDonald