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New Brunswick has lowest number of heritage lighthouses

Two lighthouses in New Brunswick are now preserved under the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act, according to a list from Parks Canada released Thursday.

The structures are located in Cape Jourimain in Botsford and Machias Seal Island in Grand Manan.

The list is part of a five-year process intended to preserve parts of Canada's marine history.

A total of 74 lighthouses have been designated by both the Minister of the Environment and Parks Canada, said Parks Canada in an emailed statement. These include 14 structures in Nova Scotia, seven in P.E.I., 11 in Newfoundland and Labrador, five in Quebec, 14 in Ontario and 21 in British Columbia.

The province of New Brunswick has the lowest count of heritage lighthouses, aside from Manitoba, which currently has none.

Thirty-five lighthouses were originally nominated for the status.

Advocate notes lack of support

Most of the nominated lighthouses are surplus structures, which are more challenging to preserve due to lack of financial support, said Marc Seguin, head of non-profit group Save Our Lighthouses.

"Because they were surplus, the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act said that before they can be designated, they would have to be transferred to community groups or municipalities," said Seguin. "My guess is that there are more lighthouses than there are community groups that have deep pockets."

Fifty lighthouses across Canada are still being considered for heritage status.

For more New Brunswick structures to make the list, support needs to grow, said Seguin.

"I'm sure the hope was a group would be formed, or there'd be funding found somewhere, or Parks Canada would relent and take on many of these lighthouses, but that hasn't happened," he said.

"A lot of these lighthouses will be left as orphans. They will have nobody looking after them. The federal government doesn't want them. There's no community group that can afford to take them on. So, they will be left to fall apart until they're demolished."