Canada Creek Small Craft Harbour Reconstruction
Location: Canada Creek, Bay of Fundy, Kings County, Nova Scotia
Client: Public Services and Procurement Canada
Timeframe: 2018
Key Staff: Greg MacDonald, Ron Keefe
Project Description
Harbourside Engineering was engaged by Public Services and Procurement Canada to deliver the full redevelopment of the Canada Creek Small Craft Harbour—a small craft harbour serving the local fishing community. The existing facility was in severe disrepair and required a complete reconstruction to support federal divestiture plans. Harbourside Engineering provided end-to-end engineering services, from conceptual planning through detailed design and construction phase support, ensuring a smooth and coordinated delivery with federal and provincial partners.
UPDATE: After the reconstruction of the Canada Creek Wharf, it was given to the Annapolis Valley First Nation in 2019.
“We're always looking at ways to make sure that we're best serving communities. And that's one of the ways we're doing it," Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan to CBC News.
Design Highlights
The new harbour infrastructure was designed to provide long-term reliability in one of the most challenging marine environments in Atlantic Canada.
Key features include:
A tied Berlin-wall-style steel H-pile bulkhead system with reinforced concrete lagging panels.
Rock-socketed piles designed to engage exposed bedrock at the harbour bottom.
The extension of a 2.4 m × 3.0 m provincial box culvert, designed to maintain continuous flow adjacent to the new bulkhead wall.
Unique Challenges
The Canada Creek site presented numerous constraints, all of which required engineering and tight collaboration during construction. The tidal extremes along the Bay of Fundy, with the harbour going dry at low tide, heavily influenced design elevations and construction sequencing. Careful monitoring of tides was critical to construction.
The existing wall was severely deteriorated, requiring careful removal and risk-managed construction. With the tidal extremes being such a major factor, timing was critical to ensure that work could be done effectively and safely. The working area was also difficult to access with construction vehicles and had limited space, making staging and equipment placement even more difficult.
Over the course of construction, unknown culverts and stormwater flows were discovered. These jeopardized work and safety. In order to adhere to construction timelines, these required quick response and solutions. This added to the challenging hydraulic conditions, including continuous stormwater discharge through the culvert system adjacent to the new wall.
Harbourside worked directly with the contractor and government partners to resolve these issues in real time. Adaptation to shifting site conditions and was critical to maintain project momentum.
Project Outcomes
The rebuilt Canada Creek Small Craft Harbour provides a safe, reliable, and modern facility that supports the long-term needs of the fishing community and federal stakeholders. Harbourside’s full-service involvement—concept through construction—ensured a high-quality design, reduced construction risk, and a successful project outcome in a highly complex marine environment.