A high-profile ambassador for the proposed Mother Canada statue in Cape Breton met with Nova Scotia politicians on Wednesday.

Retired major-general Lewis MacKenzie calls the controversy around the project “irritating,” but says they’re moving forward. His first stop on Wednesday was to the Liberal caucus meeting, to bring the government up to date on the project.

“(We’re) asking for no financial support or anything like that.  I'm sure the rumours will say that's why we're here,” MacKenzie said.

The statue is planned for Green Cove, N.S., in Cape Breton Highlands National Park. It has been criticized for its look, its size and location.

“It’s really irritating, but we have to live with it,” MacKenzie said.

MacKenzie says some of the controversy around the project is unfair, particularly when it comes to the statue’s 24-metre height.

“She happens to be about four metres higher than the fiddle in the Sydney Harbour, and only three metres higher than the National War Memorial,” he said.

The Nova Scotia government pointed out that it will not be funding the project.

“Well, we're not in a position to give support. As you know, it’s a federal matter and for the community to decide, but we're definitely always there to listen to any stakeholder who wants to bring their concerns forward. And there were a lot of questions from our members,” said Liberal caucus chair Iain Rankin.

MacKenzie made a similar presentation to the PC caucus.

“Right at the moment there's, depending on who you speak to, especially people from the community it seems to be split up the middle,” said PC caucus chair Pat Dunn.

“We believe the community has to show the support for this type of project before it probably should go forward.”

Despite the controversy, MacKenzie is confident the project will move forward.

“This will be built.  It will be started by our birthday in 2017 and these bumps along the way, we will deal with,” he said.

The retired major-general says there is still some work to be done around a detailed impact analysis, and a Mi’kmaq study also has to be completed. He hopes both will be finalized by the end of November.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Jacqueline Foster