The federal government says it will join with New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to spend a total of $650 million on protecting the Chignecto Isthmus, the narrow strip of flood-prone land that links the two Maritime provinces.

Ottawa will contribute $325 million to the project, while the two provinces have committed to spend $162.5 million each.

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The money announced today will be used to raise the area’s dikeland system to decrease the risk of flooding from storm surges and rising sea levels, both of which have been linked to climate change.

The work will help protect agricultural lands and the communities of Sackville, N.B., and Amherst, N.S., which are on either side of the provincial boundary.

The isthmus is a key transportation corridor that includes a section of the Trans-Canada Highway and a Canadian National rail line.

An estimated $100 million of goods crosses the corridor every day.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 20, 2025.