Nanaimo looks to Ottawa to cough up cash for for boat house, new public works yard

Nanaimo looks to Ottawa to cough up cash for for boat house, new public works yard

Published 3:00 pm Tuesday, May 12, 2026

The City of Nanaimo is hoping the feds will kick in some money to help pay for up to four infrastructure projects it has planned.

At council’s meeting on May 4, Laura Mercer, Nanaimo’s general manager of corporate services, said that the city has the opportunity to submit an expression-of-interest application for funding to the federal Build Communities Strong Fund Direct Delivery stream for shovel-ready projects that can start over the next 12 months, and have at least a preliminary projection of costs prepared.

The stream will provide approximately $6 billion over 10 years starting in 2026-27 to support regionally significant climate-adaptation and community-infrastructure projects.

“At this time, the percentage of funding allowed for a project has not been disclosed in the program information, nor has the timeline when funding will be announced,” Mercer said.

She said, based on the criteria, staff have chosen upgrades at the city’s public works yard, infrastructure work at the Millstone truck sewer, improvements at Loudon Park, and upgrades at Nanaimo’s Stadium District.

Council has approved a $79.4-million budget for work at the municipal public-works yard on Labieux Road that will see the construction of a new crew and administration building, a new fleet-maintenance building, and related site improvements to support operations.

As for the Millstone trunk-sewer project, which has been estimated to cost approximately $3.3 million, a 600 mm asbestos cement-sewer trunk along a one-kilometre section of Millstone, between East Wellington and Westwood, requires upsizing to 900 mm to address current and future capacity deficiencies.

The improvement project at Louden Park, estimated at approximately $11.5 million, would see the construction of a boat house and community activity centre, as well as expanded and improved park amenities.

The approximately $3.7-million project at Nanaimo’s Stadium District, which includes Q’únq’inuqwstuxw Stadium, Rotary Bowl, and Serauxmen Stadium, calls for the development of a centralized change room and washroom facility to support key athletic venues within the district.

Mercer said the approximately $3-million project that would provide new washrooms and public art in Maffeo Sutton Park was also considered by staff to be part of the application to the BCSF for funding, but staff concluded the other four projects better fit the program’s criteria and provide the potential for a larger grant contribution if successful.

“If the expression-of-interest (in the four projects) results in an invitation to submit a full proposal for funding (for any or all of them), staff will bring back the report to council for your approval,” she said.

Mayor Leonard Krog said “we’re making Santa’s list” with the request for funding.

“I’d like to say thank you to staff,” he said.

“It’s not an easy job to put these things together, and it’s a good list so maybe we’ll be lucky.”