Anticosti moves a step closer to becoming UNESCO World Heritage site

The island of Anticosti — a rocky, 200-kilometre stretch of land in the Gulf of St. Lawrence known for its sweeping vistas and salmon fishing — is a step closer to becoming a UNESCO World Heritage site. 

Environment Minister Catherine McKenna announced Wednesday the federal government is backing Anticosti's bid for the designation, along with seven other sites across the country.

"These national treasures represent the very best that Canada has to offer, from natural wonders and maritime heritage to Indigenous lands and culture," she said in Ottawa.

Mount Royal was also hoping for support from the federal government, but was left off the list.

Anticosti Mayor John Pineault has been pushing for his island to be recognized as a way to encourage tourists to visit and ensure environmental protection of the island.

The Quebec government banned drilling on the island earlier this year, after heated protests over oil and gas exploration.

"We are so proud and especially grateful for all the support we have had so far," Pineault said, adding that the designation will mean the "whole world knows our island and its unique features."

One of those features is its value to science: Fossils on the island have helped chronicle the world's first mass extinction more than 400 million years ago, as McKenna pointed out in her remarks on Wednesday. 

Anticosti is slightly larger than Prince Edward Island but sparsely populated, with only about 215 residents. 

The island, sometimes called the "Cemetery of the Gulf" because more than 400 shipwrecks have been recorded in the area in the last 400 years, is also popular with hunters. 

Jean-Charles Piétacho, chief of the Innu community of Ekuanitshit, not far from Anticosti on the north shore of the St. Lawrence, also supports the designation.

He said being recognized by UNESCO would be a "gift" for future generations. 

Canada currently has 18 UNESCO World Heritage sites. McKenna said there were 42 applications for the designation this year. Eight were selected.  

UNESCO has the final say on whether a site receives the designation.

Here's a list of the other nominated sites:

• Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound Glass Sponge Reefs (British Columbia).
• Stein Valley (British Columbia).
• Wanuskewin Heritage Park (Saskatchewan).
• Heart's Content Cable Station Provincial Historic Site (Newfoundland and Labrador).
• Qajartalik (Nunavut).
• Sirmilik National Park and the proposed Tallurutiup Imanga/Lancaster Sound National Marine Conservation Area (Nunavut).
• Yukon Ice Patches (Yukon).