P.E.I.'s Province House gets another $21M for renos

As Canada approaches its 150th birthday in 2017, the federal government is investing an additional $21 million to spruce up the place where it all began.

The cash will bring the total investment for upgrades at Province House in Charlottetown, the birthplace of Confederation, to $41 million.

• Province House restoration set to begin next year

• Province House clears out historical artifacts before repairs

"The government of Canada recognizes the significance of Province House National Historic Site to the history of Prince Edward Island and Canada, and is committed to its long-term conservation," said Cardigan MP Lawrence MacAulay in a news release.

Painstaking task

The funding will allow Parks Canada to continue with the work it's planned this year shoring up the south entrance and fixing a bulge in the wall behind it.

But the slowest and most difficult work is taking place inside.

Every stick and stone taken from the walls of Province House will eventually be put back in place. In the meantime, it's all being numbered, labelled and catalogued.

The restoration team has spent the past year opening up the walls to understand the problems and decide the best way to fix them.

Work on the south entrance is slated to begin in mid-August, with work on the foundation expected to come next year. It's hoped the project will be finished by 2018.

Built in 1847

The federal money is part of $3 billion the Liberal government will spend over the next five years to support infrastructure work to heritage, visitor, waterway and highway assets located within national historic sites, national parks and national marine conservation areas across Canada.

Province House was built in 1847. It belongs to the province of P.E.I. but is maintained and operated as a national historic site by Parks Canada.

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