Nova Scotia Power Gifts $5 Million to the Forever CBU Campaign

Cape Breton University is thrilled to announce a $5 million donation from Nova Scotia Power, supported by their parent company Emera, towards the Forever CBU Capital Campaign that will establish scholarships for Nova Scotia students and help fund the new Centre for Discovery and Innovation at CBU.

The $50 million Forever CBU Campaign, launched in February 2023, focuses on raising funds for scholarships and bursaries, the new Centre for Discovery and Innovation, health, wellness and recreation at the newly renovated Canada Games Complex, as well as the new Cape Breton Medical Sciences Building.

“CBU and Nova Scotia Power have a deeply rooted partnership and a connection that spans generations,” says David C. Dingwall, President & Vice-Chancellor of CBU. “While this connection may have started with coal mining, it is now one based on supporting the people of Nova Scotia and looking toward an innovative, exciting and sustainable future for generations. We are grateful for this gift and excited to work with our partners at Nova Scotia Power on the future Centre for Discovery and Innovation.”

The $5 million gift to the Forever CBU campaign will be invested into funding the new Centre for Discovery and Innovation building and it will establish new scholarships for Nova Scotia students who will study in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programs. The Centre for Discovery and Innovation will house state-of-the-art research and instructional facilities for STEM programing.  Featuring the latest in green technology and digital infrastructure, the CDI will change the trajectory and elevate Cape Breton Island as a national destination for research and a global destination for students.

With its innovative infrastructure, CBU will maximize the impact of its already strong program of community-engaged research and expand the number and scale of its industry partnerships, and transform Cape Breton Island. The new building will feature collaborative research laboratories, state-of-the-art teaching laboratories and active learning classrooms, community engagement and an innovation hub to facilitate community-based collaboration, public outreach and industry partnerships, and will focus on carbon reduction by replacing CBU’s existing science building, which is more than 50 years old and the largest energy-user on campus.

“We are proud to support Cape Breton University and the new Centre for Discovery and Innovation. CBU is contributing immensely to the growth of the Island and the province and the team here at Nova Scotia Power is thrilled to be able to contribute to that growth,” says Peter Gregg, President and CEO of Nova Scotia Power. “Nova Scotia Power employs CBU Alumni throughout our organization, from the leadership team to the men and women who bring power into our homes. To be able to support future generations of Alumni in science and technology fields by investing in this new building and creating scholarships is exciting and further strengthens our long history with CBU.”

Nova Scotia Power Inc., like CBU, has a long and historic relationship with the Cape Breton coal industry. For decades, coal from Cape Breton, mined by the same coal miners who fought for higher education for their children, also fueled Nova Scotia Power’s thermal power generating stations. At the downturn of the coal mining industry in Cape Breton, CBU predecessor institute, Nova Scotia Eastern Institute of Technology, helped retrain Cape Bretoners for jobs in technology and engineering, starting the history of CBU Alumni establishing long careers with Nova Scotia Power.

Cape Breton University has been a valuable source of employee recruitment for Nova Scotia Power. With more than four thousand Alumni from the Engineering Technology diploma program, the Bachelor of Engineering Technology Program, and the Bachelor of Engineering (two-year transfer diploma), many of these graduates have begun meaningful careers with Nova Scotia Power.

“Many characteristics of the electric grid are evolving at an unprecedented pace, and innovation is rapidly reshaping the industry,” says Rob Boone, Manager of Grid Modernization for Nova Scotia Power, “Cape Breton University’s new Center for Discovery and Innovation will help prepare a new cohort of graduates ready to solve the world’s new and exciting challenges. As a proud alumnus, I’m inspired by CBU’s leadership in innovation and sustainability, all while remaining deeply connected to Cape Breton’s heritage and culture.”

Construction is set to start on the new Centre for Discovery and Innovation in late 2025, and it will replace the more than 50-year-old labs at CBU.

Photo Caption – Nova Scotia Power employees and CBU leadership and CBU Alumni gather for a photo after the $5 million announcement to the Forever CBU campaign. There are over 70 CBU graduates working at Nova Scotia Power across the Province.

Front row – Dr. Stephanie MacQuarrie, Sara Salter Burke, Jeffrey Devoe, President David Dingwall, Mary Black, Shane Condon, Sandra Kanchuk, Grant Petruskavich, Shawn Lively, and Dave Pickles.

Back Row – Stewart Whynott, Mark Sidebottom, Rob Boone, Mattew McArthu, Mandy Smith, Milton Howley, Maegan MacDonald, Steve MacLean, and Joseph Kunnackal Varghese

The valve in the photo was gifted to the University by the staff at Lingan Power Generating Station. It will be displayed in the Centre for Discovery and Innovation as a symbol of the partnership and history of the two organizations.