On February 26, 2024, the Government of Nova Scotia announced, “The Future of our Coastline: A plan to protect people, homes and nature from climate change” (see full announcement below).

It is Engineers Nova Scotia’s understanding that this plan was created in lieu of the Coastal Protection Act and Regulations. As the regulations and associated tools were being developed to support the Act and Regulations, Engineers Nova Scotia had been working with the Government of Nova Scotia to provide feedback.

Prior to this announcement, we were prepared to assist the Government in operationalizing the Act.

We will continue to monitor developments in coastal protection, and remain ready to provide industry expert engineers to assist in the development of policies which protect the public of Nova Scotia.

Additional information can be found on the Government's website at novascotia.ca/coastal-plan and our Coastal Protection Act webpage.

The February 26th Government Announcement 

"Today, the Government of Nova Scotia announced The Future of our Coastline: A plan to protect people, homes and nature from climate change. This comprehensive plan has 15 actions for property owners, municipalities, and the province to keep coastal homes, communities, and natural areas safer from the impacts of climate change, such as rising sea level and more frequent and intense storms which lead to coastal flooding and erosion. You can read it at novascotia.ca/coastal-plan. This website also has new resources to support Nova Scotians, including:

• Safeguarding Your Coastal Property: A guide to protecting your property and promoting healthy coastlines in the face of climate change
• Coastal Hazard Map – where you can see what sea level rise and storm surge could look like at high tide in the year 2100 with the online mapping tool
• Navigator Service – Navigators are available to provide support
• Coastal Adaptation Toolkit – The toolkit helps coastal communities and property owners plan for the effects of climate change

Nova Scotians in every part of the province are experiencing the negative effects of climate change now. Last summer’s flooding and wildfires were a heartbreaking reminder of that.  Our coast is on the front line. As a Province we are taking action. We are:

• achieving the ambitious targets set out in the Environmental Goals and Climate Change Reduction Act;
• providing important climate information through Climate Risk Assessment;
• making significant progress on achieving the 68 goals in the Climate Change Plan;
• designating new protected areas;
• and implementing a new strategy to achieve 20% protection of land and water in Nova Scotia by 2030;
• and now we also have a coastal plan to address specific concerns related to the impacts of climate change on our coast.  

This plan is about empowering coastal property owners to make informed decisions, supporting municipal leadership, and provincial action to empower people and communities to adapt to the impacts of climate change.

If you have questions about the plan, please reach out to Gordon Smith with the Department of Environment and Climate Change at gordon.smith@novascotia.ca."