A game-changing administrative act. In a decision that passed almost under media silence, the Nova Scotia government approved on 21 October 2025 the lease of 83 hectares of Crown lands and waters to the Whale Sanctuary Project. A dry but decisive document: the go-ahead that transforms a long-suspended idea—a marine sanctuary for cetaceans freed from water parks—into an operational project in Port Hilford Bay, in Canada’s easternmost region.
Behind the bureaucratic prose of an ordinance lies a paradigm shift: the creation of North America’s first coastal sanctuary, designed to accommodate up to ten whales.
Twenty years to build freedom
The lease, valid for 20 years and renewable for another 20, marks the concrete start of construction. For Charles Vinick, the project’s CEO, it is a long overdue step. The approval unlocks the private fundraising campaign, which is targeting $15 million for infrastructure and $1.5 million a year for management. “Without a real project, it’s hard to ask for commitments,” Vinick explained, anticipating new donations from funders already prepared to invest.
Resistance and background
The idea was born in 2015 and became an NGO the following year, but the road to the sanctuary was anything but easy. Between 2020 and 2022, two years of environmental analysis examined every detail of water and seabed, while politics and local communities remained divided.
Subsequently, Marineland, an Ontario theme park that is home to thirty belugas, attempted to block the initiative, raising concerns about the environmental impact and pollution of the area. The allegations were rejected by both the Whale Sanctuary Project and provincial authorities.
The most sensitive objections, however, came from landowners near the site. Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton had announced that unanimous consent would be needed to proceed. That consent never came, but the ordinance was signed anyway. The same day, a cabinet reshuffle removed Rushton from his post—a coincidence that suggests a political will to close the file without further delay.
Port Hilford: geography of a return
The choice of Port Hilford Bay was the result of two years of research among 135 sites in North America. The area, with more than 40 hectares of water up to 18 metres deep, offers ideal conditions for hosting cetaceans accustomed to captivity.
The project includes a floating perimeter net that will surround the stretch of sea designated for the sanctuary, connected to a boardwalk to allow for monitoring and care. On land, a veterinary centre, buildings for marine operations and an observation tower will be built. In Sherbrooke, the Visitor and Operations Centre will educate the public about the difference between life in captivity and life in the open sea, making the sanctuary also a place for education and outreach.
From the project to the open sea
The provincial permit is only the first step. The Whale Sanctuary Project will now have to obtain federal permits, including Transport Canada’s approval for navigable waters and Department of Fisheries transfer licences for each individual animal.
Vinick says he is confident: “Transport Canada has all the necessary information. We have not encountered any problems.” However, the transfer of the first specimens can only take place after the completion of facilities and environmental testing.
A laboratory of the future
The Nova Scotia sanctuary was created as a prototype for a new balance between conservation, technology and politics. A place that attempts to restore a viable form of freedom for whales after decades of captivity.
It is not a utopia, but an experiment combining ethics and engineering, science and diplomacy. In a world where bureaucracy often sinks the best ideas, this time it was a signature that made the sea breathe.
