How tourism operators in P.E.I. are learning to prepare for, and live with, climate change
'Now when they say high tide, we truly believe it,' says Island restaurateur
The effects of climate change were front and centre Thursday as the federal tourism minister met with business owners on Prince Edward Island.
Soraya Martinez Ferrada says the federal government is working with tourism operators across Canada to get them ready for the events that lay ahead.
"I think more and more we understand the impact — when you see Rideau Canal not having ice, when you see the ice hotel in the winter that's melting," Martinez Ferrada said in an interview with CBC News.
"I think the tourism sector is understanding that we have to evaluate how we're going to adapt to these changes."
But her concerns are not limited to the on-the-ground effects of climate change.
"When you see media all over the world saying 'Canada is burning,' the reputation hit that it makes for the travellers to want to come to Canada [is] an issue," she said.
Chad Heron, CEO of Cows Ice Cream, shares that consternation.
"People don't want to go out and travel in storms, and we're a tourism-based business," Heron said.
When post-tropical storm Fiona hit Atlantic Canada in September 2022, it ground the company's operations to halt for weeks, he said.
Now, Cows is taking climate change into consideration as it looks to expand with new stores and new brands, he said.
"We really need to think about the infrastructure that we're building and implementing," Heron said. "And make sure that it's resilient if we are going to have more storms coming through in the fall."
'It was literally devastating'
That resilience is something Steve Murphy, who owns restaurants in North Rustico and Charlottetown, has on his mind.
Fiona dealt significant damage to the Blue Mussel Cafe, Murphy's waterfront restaurant on a thin peninsula in North Rustico Harbour.
The building sits on posts about four feet off the ground. Still, the cafe took on about three feet of water in a storm surge event that flooded the small community.
"It was literally devastating," Murphy said. "Everything had to go. The drywall had to come out, the insulation, the plumbing, the electrical, all the walk-in fridges, all the equipment."
The storm shut the restaurant down early for the season, staff lost work and repairs cost thousands, even with insurance.
They put the restaurant back together in time for the 2023 season. But despite reopening, the thought of the severe weather, and what to do about it, are never far away, Murphy said.
"There's only really two things we can do. We can either move up, or we can move out," he said.
Murphy's now considering raising the height of the building, or possibly moving it further back from the water, to get ready for the next big storm.
"Now, I'd say, when they say high tide, we truly believe it," Murphy said "We act as if it's going to be the worst storm ever."
If that happens, he and his team are "more ready than ever," and trying to remain optimistic.
"Look, we live on the water in one of the best places in the world. People come from all over the world to spend an hour in that harbour," Murphy said. "We're pretty lucky, so we can take the good with the bad."
Martinez Ferrada said the federal government gave the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency $300 million to help rebuild and adapt after Fiona.
But she said more needs to be done to ensure the industry — which employs more than two million people across Canada and nearly 9,000 on the Island — is ready for the impacts of climate change.
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