MABU – Some in Cape Breton are angry and preparing for a fight as the developer of a nearby golf course looks out over the windswept beaches of West Mabou Beach Provincial Park.
Nadine Hunt was involved in two previous campaigns to stop the Cabot golf company from expanding into a park on the west coast of Cape Breton Island.
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This time is worse, Hunt said in a recent interview.
Now the provincial government appears to be open to expansion, she said. The company even created a website for the project.
“We feel powerless,” Hunt said, looking out at the sable beach stretching out behind her. “People said, 'We're going to end up in front of bulldozers.' Many, many people have said this. It's terrible if it comes to that.”
West Mabou Beach Provincial Park covers approximately 2.8 square kilometers of sand dunes and beaches along the shore of the Northumberland Strait in Mabou, Cape Breton. The park is home to more than a dozen rare and endangered species, including the plover, a tiny sand-nesting shorebird.
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This is the only known place in Primorye where you can find ascending moonfoil, a fern whose thick leaves curl upward into clusters of finger-like petals.
The park attracts tourists and locals, Hunt said. On Friday, the couple read books on lounge chairs they set up on the sand. Other visitors brought dogs with them, who swam in the ocean and chased abandoned driftwood.
It owns and operates two 18-hole golf courses in nearby Inverness, North Carolina, as well as an 11-hole short course, three restaurants, a 72-room lodge and nearly 50 villas and houses, according to Cabot's website.
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The company did not respond to requests for comment but has launched a web page dedicated to the so-called “Mabou Golf Project”, saying it is “exploring the potential of a new world-class course at West Mabou Beach”.
In 2023, Tim Houston's Progressive Conservative government said provincial parks legislation would not allow a golf course to be built on the beach.
But after winning 42 of Nova Scotia's 55 seats in the 2024 election, the Houston government suggests the golf course could be good for the local economy.
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A spokesman for the province's Department of Natural Resources confirmed last week that Cabot has floated ideas for new development within the park.
“If a company wants to explore new opportunities that could lead to good jobs and other investments in our communities, we think that's great and we'll listen,” Alicia Doyle said in an email.
On Tuesday, the Tories used their majority to vote down a Liberal motion that would have reaffirmed the government's commitment to protected land, including West Mabou Beach.
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Asked whether Cabot had approached him, Kyle McQuarrie, a member of the region's Progressive Conservative Party, told The Canadian Press in a statement that he was “only informed that something would be done.” McQuarrie declined to be interviewed.
People in the region are unhappy, Hunt said. They are concerned that discussions continue behind closed doors and they will not be able to influence the outcome. In last week's edition of local Inverness Oran newspaper there were nine letters opposing the development of a beach golf course in West Mabou.
“This time the anger increased even more,” Hunt said. “Are you kidding me for the third time? Is this company coming back for a third time to try to get this park after being turned down twice? How much disrespect does this show to the community?”
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Sivan Hobden said she and her husband moved to the area because they loved the park. She said current provincial rules allow the premier to strip a piece of land as a public park without consultation.
She fears the Houston government will use the rules to remove West Mabou Beach from the list of provincial parks and allow Cabot to move there.
If the government is interested in supporting job creation and economic growth, it should encourage Cabot to buy private land instead, Hobden said.
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“That's the crux of the matter: They can just buy private land,” she said. “It will have the same economic benefits.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 30, 2025.
Sarah Smellie, The Canadian Press
