Ministers Island is latest tourist site planning to hand keys back to province
Board that runs the island off Saint Andrews says it can't sustain operations without more funding
Ministers Island is the only tourist attraction in New Brunswick where visitors can drive across the ocean floor, but the tides of change threaten to overtake the historic site in Saint Andrews.
The board of the charity that runs Ministers Island says it is unable to keep the popular attraction going with the $100,000 it receives for from the province for its operations budget.
"We've tried everything and we've tried everything for 17 years," said John Kershaw, chair of the board of the Van Horne Estate on Ministers Island.
"We've decided as a board that unless we get additional investment from the province, we are going to, in August, give six months' notice that we will not operate next year."
Ministers Island, accessible only at low tide, was once owned by Sir William Van Horne, who was famous for getting the Canadian Pacific Railway built.
With an admission ticket, visitors get to explore the island Van Horne once called his summer home. Popular attractions include the mansion, bathhouse, livestock barn, windmill and walking trails that cross the island from shore to shore.
It is one of many historic attractions in Saint Andrews.
Kershaw argues that similar historic sites in the province, including Kings Landing, receive significantly more provincial funding even though they attract comparable numbers of visitors.
According to its annual report, Kings Landing gets $3.7 million as a provincial operating grant on top of other non-recurring grants from the province.
"We just feel that that level of difference is just not fair," Kershaw said.
These historic sites are both owned by the province and operated by external boards. Kings landing saw 34,000 visitors last year and Ministers Island saw 24,000.
Does 10,000 more visitors justify millions more in funding?
The New Brunswick government bought Ministers Island in 1977, and the island was declared a national historic site about 20 years later.
Ever since the Van Horne Estate on Ministers Island was set up this century, every chair of the board "has been calling on the government to enhance our level of funding," Kershaw said.
The board functions as a custodian for the island, overseeing operations for the province.
Operational funding to the island increased to $130,000 from $33,000 in the 2019-2020 fiscal year, then moved down to $100,000 in 2020-2021, where it has stayed each year since.
Funding for the island also comes from various donations and non-recurring grants.
The board is only able to hire one full-time paid employee to oversee operations on the island. The rest of the work is stretched among volunteer board members and seasonal employees.
Kershaw said this is not enough help to sustain the island.
The Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture did not allow CBC News to interview Tourism Minister Isabelle Theriault and sent a statement instead.
Despite the board's concerns, the statement said, the department is "committed to ensuring the continued conservation and public enjoyment of Ministers Island."
"We renewed the funding that had been provided in previous years that Ministers Island received in the past," Premier Susan Holt said at a recent news when asked about the site's predicament.
"At this point in time, the government doesn't have additional money to put more money into those heritage sites."
Holt said that "the cost to operate is going up and that's leaving them with shortfalls.
About $900,000 was cut from the provincial tourism budget in March.
Not the first historical site to speak out
The island's board is not the first to speak out about a lack of funding in New Brunswick.
MacDonald Farm in Miramichi had to close because it didn't have the money to stay open.
This historical site is also owned by the government but run by the Highland Society of New Brunswick at Miramichi.
"We are a completely volunteer committee that operates this site and we just felt that having to fight to keep this site open is not something that we have the energy to do anymore," said society president Dawn Lamkey MacDonald.
Impact on Saint Andrews tourism
The lack of funding isn't just a worry for the Ministers Island board but also for the Explore Saint Andrews, the town's tourism marketing board.
"Heritage and tourism is a big part of what draws people to Saint Andrews," said Explore Saint Andrews board member James Geneau. "I would argue that Minister's Island is an attraction that has lots of opportunity with a huge audience."
Geneau said that closing the island to tourists would have a significant impact on tourism that Saint Andrew's economy desperately depends on.
"Losing that is going to be significant in terms of the overall offering that Saint Andrews can provide to tourists," Geneau said. "It's part of a broader offering which makes the area a destination for not just a night, but multiple days."
Saint Andrews tourism works as a collective cluster with neighbouring sites such as the Huntsman Marine Science Center, Algonquin Golf Course, and the Blockhouse supporting each other, drawing visitors to stay in town for longer.
"Ministers Island is likely one of the most visited historical sites in the area," Geneau said.
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