The federal government has announced $1.5 million in funding for the Sambro Island Lighthouse in Sambro, N.S.
MPs Peter MacKay and Gerald Keddy announced the investment Saturday morning.
The money is for concrete renovations, rehabilitation of the original lantern and gallery and installation of a heating and ventilation system.
Built by the British in 1758, it is the oldest standing lighthouse in Canada, the United States and the Caribbean. It is an active Canadian Coast Guard navigation guide, but it’s in need of repair.
Locals have been fighting to keep it open for years.
In November, NDP MP Megan Leslie tabled a private members’ bill in the House of Commons to add the lighthouse to a protected list. Leslie also presented a petition with more than 5,000 signatures.
“In my heart I believe this is Canada’s Statue of Liberty,” says Sambro Island Lighthouse Heritage Society member Sue Paul.
“For every immigrant that came here by boat, for every soldier that left to go to war, for the lucky ones that were able to come home.”
Even MacKay says the Sambro Island Lighthouse Heritage Society was instrumental in ensuring the funding announcement.
“The passion, the affection, the emotion attached to this group and this movement to preserve the lighthouse was very apparent to me from the moment we met,” MacKay says.
The remote location of the beacon on Sambro Island means the setup alone will be costly.
“You have to fly staging out from the mainland by helicopter, set staging up all around the lighthouse. Any repairs you do to a concrete structure like that is very time-consuming,” says Barry MacDonald, a member of the Sambro Island Lighthouse Heritage Society.
The government says the investment allows stewardship of the lighthouse to be transferred to local community leaders under the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Ron Shaw
