The Nova Scotia government has no plans to build a new art gallery in downtown Halifax.
The project was passed with support from all parties in 2019, but the province indefinitely delayed the project in 2022.
Premier Houston said there are “tremendous demands on the public purse” and building a new art gallery is “on pause.”
“We need to stay focused on investments in Nova Scotia through health care, through education, through housing, through supporting people,” Houston told reporters Wednesday.
The city needs a new art gallery, according to the Downtown Halifax Business Commission vision 2030 report.
The current art gallery in the city reopened on Saturday after renovations.
But it still needs millions in work, according to the Public Works Department, including:
- roof replacement, costing $1.98 million
- sprinkler replacement, which was recently finished, estimated at $595,000
- window replacement, estimated at $385,000
Claudia Chender, leader of the Nova Scotia NDP, said that’s a lot of work to put into the existing art gallery, which is why we need a new one.
“Arts and culture is actually an enormous value to many Nova Scotians across this province,” Chender told reporters.
If the current government wants to tackle housing, education and health care issues before spending on a new art gallery, “then under this government, we’ll get an art gallery never, because they aren’t making too much progress on their promises,” said Chender.
Chender, along with Liberal leader Zach Churchill, said art and culture attracts people to the city, so when the premier talks about recruiting doctors, for example, a new art gallery could help.
Reducing costs
They both say the gallery doesn’t have to be the same size as the original plan.
Churchill is also unhappy renovations will cost millions at the current art gallery in Halifax.
However, the project could be scaled down to reduce costs, something Chender suggested as well.
“I know the art gallery’s on board for that, so I think not moving forward at all with this is short sighted,” said Churchill.
But multiple levels of government and people in the private sector committed millions to build the new gallery, and Churchill said the government shouldn’t say no “to that private money that’s going to be invested in this really important public infrastructure.”
He said the delay could make the gallery lose the federal investment, too.
The premier told reporters that he’d seen proposals that would reduce the cost of the gallery.
“It’s my understanding that a couple different proposals have been made that could reduce the potential price tag,” said Houston.
Since he’s been in office, there have been different “what if” scenarios discussed, and the government is always open to listening, he said.
In an emailed statement, spokesperson for the Tourism Department, Susan Mader Zinck, clarified the details of those proposals. She said the design team collaborated with the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia “to identify efficiencies that could bring down the cost.”
But Mader Zinck said inflation and rising construction costs after the COVID-19 pandemic brought up the price tag.
“As a result, the project has been paused, and no further work has been done or plans discussed regarding the design,” wrote Mader Zinck.