NB Power claims the province needs a new fossil (‘natural’) gas-fired power plant. If built, the new power plant would be the largest new energy generator on the grid in decades. It would emit new greenhouse gasses – just when we desperately need to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Much better alternatives do exist.
Read the full article by CRED-NB core member Tom McLean, published in the NB Media Co-op, HERE.
CRED-NB joined with more than 100 groups across Canada to sign a letter to the Prime Minister asking to ensure that the Build Canada Homes initiative includes sustainability guidelines. The letter we signed asked that these new homes use the most modern technologies for heating and cooling air and water. Rather than building these homes with antiquated oil or gas heating, residents of Canada would greatly benefit from homes that come equipped with high efficiency electric heat pumps or other low-carbon alternatives like high-efficiency direct electric or geothermal district heating. Read the letter HERE.
This invitation to sign a federal E-Petition is from Juliette Bulmer, a very concerned resident of Midgic, NB. Email: sjbulmer@eastlink.ca
Juliette is a CRED-NB Champion and one of the three organizers along with Terry Jones of Centre Village, NB and Kristen LeBlanc of Midgic, NB.
This is grassroots activism in action! It’s politics driven by people, not power. It’s about protecting our environment, demanding accountability, and refusing to be ignored.
Here is the online federal e-petition to the House of Commons in Parliament, demanding the federal government shut down the Centre Village Project. It was written and submitted by Kristen LeBlanc.
Presented to caucus by Saanich-Gulf Islands British Columbia MP Elizabeth May, the leader of the Green Party of Canada!! Please sign the petition and let’s get above and beyond the required 500 signatures. As this is a federal e-petition it is open to all Canadians until December18, 2025. In less than 24 hours there were over 225 signatures from 10 provinces and counting!!
Federal Petition Link with Details: https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-6738
A bit of background: On August 12, 2025, a Facebook group called STOP the Tantramar Gas Plant! was created and as of August 22, barely 10 DAYS later, it had over 555 dedicated members! This group is a space for community members who are concerned about the proposed Tantramar Natural Gas Power Plant, and want to take action to protect our region. The plant’s location would be along Route 940, in Centre Village, NB, which is part of the Tantramar area on the Chignecto Isthmus.
The Facebook page is a space to share information, organize events, build community, and raise our voices for a future that puts people and the planet first. All are welcome to work together to keep Tantramar clean, safe, and thriving for generations to come.
Text from Kristen LeBlanc:
We stand together in opposition to the gas plant for many reasons:
*Environmental Impact – The plant threatens local ecosystems, wetlands, wells, and wildlife that are vital to our region’s natural beauty and ecological health.
*Public Health Risks – Gas infrastructure can lead to air and water pollution, impacting the well-being of nearby residents — especially children, elders, and those with existing health conditions.
*Climate Crisis – Building new fossil fuel infrastructure is a step backward. We need to invest in clean, renewable energy that ensures a sustainable future for all.
*Community Values – This project does not reflect the priorities of Tantramar residents who value clean air, rural character, and democratic decision-making.
*Better Alternatives – There are smarter, cleaner ways to meet our energy needs — ones that create jobs without compromising our environment or health.
Here are all of the 271 comments submitted to the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) on the Gas Plant Project: https://iaac-aeic.gc.ca/050/evaluations/proj/89719/contributions
For media coverage and additional information, see the links. This is just an example of much of the media coverage.
https://warktimes.com/ 5 comprehensive articles by Bruce Wark
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/no-mikmaw-ownership-gas-plant-1.7613798
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/gas-plant-eub-approval-1.7599657
CRED-NB Champion Juliette Bulmer and her colleagues Terry Jones and Kristen LeBlanc live near NB Power’s proposed gas plant. They organized a community meeting in August in Midgic, the community just south of the proposed site.
About 80 people from local communities and the wider region, including Moncton, showed up on the hot August evening in the Midgic Church basement to hear about the project.
By the following evening, a new Facebook group “Stop the Tantramar Gas Plant Facebook group” had more than 200 members.
Read the story in the NB Media Co-op, HERE.
Over the summer, New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt mused to journalists about building a second CANDU reactor at the Point Lepreau nuclear site on the Bay of Fundy.
“A second CANDU is not far-fetched,” she told the Telegraph Journal. On the weekend, Holt enthused about the idea in a CBC story about the Eastern Energy Partnership pitch to Prime Minister Mark Carney.
A new CANDU reactor for New Brunswick? It’s a puzzling thought, worth pondering.
Read the article by CRED-NB core member Susan O’Donnell and nuclear scientist Frank Greening in The Energy Mix, HERE.
A shorter version was published in French in Acadie Nouvelle, HERE.
Opposition is building to NB Power’s proposal for a fossil gas plant with diesel storage backup north of Sackville. The utility will sign a long-term power purchase agreement with a U.S. company, PROENERGY, that will build and operate the plant. Stories by Bruce Wark (New Wark Times) about the project are HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE.
The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) was accepting comments on the project description until earlier this week. They are posted on the project registry. 271 comments were submitted (!!) indicating a very high public interest in this project.
The comment submitted to the IAAC by CRED-NB is HERE.
Comments submitted to the IAAC by CRED-NB core members:
Tom McLean – comment is HERE
Sam Arnold, Sustainable Energy Group – comment is HERE
Susan O’Donnell, CEDAR project at STU – comment is HERE
Comments submitted to the IAAC by CRED-NB Champions include:
New Brunswick Anti-Shale Gas Alliance (NBASGA) – comment is HERE
If you are a CRED-NB Champion and would like us to link to your comment on this blog post, send us an email and your comment number on the IAAC registry.
The David Suzuki Foundation is hosting a petition, ready to sign, asking the federal government to build an east-west electricity grid powered by renewables. We’re asking all CRED-NB Champions to please consider signing the petition, HERE.
A massive build out of renewable energy, connected regionally and nationally, is the best way out of the energy bind we are in with our reliance on fossil fuels. A policy of building only renewable energy and storage systems will boost our fight against plans in New Brunswick for a new fossil gas plant north of Sackville.
This new national petition follows on from a letter on the same theme sent to PM Carney in July, signed by 105 groups across Canada, including CRED-NB and allies in New Brunswick. That letter was also organized by the David Suzuki Foundation as part of their ongoing campaign to encourage our governments to build only renewable energy systems.
NB Lung has an open petition to oppose plans to build new gas infrastructure in Tantramar, expand operations in Belledune, and potentially extend a pipeline from Quebec.
The action alert will be sent to provincial politicians each time you sign. Please sign HERE.
New Brunswick is proposing to build a new fossil gas plant, which has a lovely but deceptive project name: “Centre Village Renewables Integration and Grid Security Project.” Sounds great right? Don’t be fooled: fossil gas is not needed for grid security or to support variable renewable energy. The plan is to put this plant on Route 940 north of Sackville, near Midgic and Centre Village. Local MLA Megan Mitton has strongly objected to the proposed development.
New Brunswick doesn’t need it. Many storage options exist and new ones are developing rapidly – to provide grid security and pair with wind and solar energy without adding more GHGs to the atmosphere when operating. (Read CRED-NB core member Tom McLean’s article on storage HERE.)
The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) posted the notice that comments are open on the initial fossil gas project description summary, HERE. The deadline for your comments is August 13. We encourage everyone to put in a comment – even a simple email will help. CRED-NB will submit a comment.
The IAAC will hold two Public Open Houses
Tuesday, August 12, 2025, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Sackville Music Barn
18 Station Rd.
Tantramar, NB
and
Wednesday, August 13, 2025, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Tantramar Veterans Memorial Civic Centre
182 Main St.
Tantramar, NB
Comments can also be provided during Public Open Houses. IAAC will include all comments in their Public Consultation Report.
If you want to stay informed of the latest updates, we encourage you to sign up for the newsletter of CRED-NB member NBASGA – the New Brunswick Anti-Shale Gas Alliance who are active on this file. Website HERE.
CRED-NB Champion Emma Fackenthall published a story in the NB Media Co-op about the new wind energy projects led by Indigenous communities in New Brunswick.
“In what could potentially be a pivotal step toward a just energy transition, NB Power has announced four wind energy agreements with Indigenous communities across the province. The new Power Purchase Agreements total more than 450 megawatts (MW) of wind-generated electricity, enough to power 82,000 New Brunswick homes based on the average residential consumption of 1,700 kWh per month.
Beyond the headline of low-cost wind power lies a deeper narrative: climate justice, Indigenous leadership, and intertwining environmental responsibility with economic reconciliation.”
Read the full article HERE.