New Brunswick·NewNewly released documents show the level of involvement between the North Shore Mi’kmaq Tribal Council and ProEnergy, the company hired by N.B. Power to build a major new gas plant in rural Tantramar.North Shore Mi’kmaq Tribal Council promised partnership with ProEnergy, but no guarantee on ‘community buy-in’Erica Butler · CBC News · Posted: Nov 13, 2025 5:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 30 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.ProEnergy Canada vice-president John MacIsaac told some skeptical Tantramar council members to fact-check him on his claims about a Mi’kmaw organization’s involvement in a gas plant project proposed for the area. (Municipality of Tantramar/Youtube)Documents released by N.B. Power show the North Shore Mi’kmaq Tribal Council had expressed enthusiastic support for U.S. company ProEnergy in its 2024 bid to take on a major new gas-burning power plant project proposed for rural Tantramar. But the same documents make it clear that “community buy-in cannot be guaranteed,” and no final deal is in place.CBC News requested the documents after ProEnergy Canada president John MacIsaac urged councillors in Tantramar to “fact-check” him over the company’s claims that the tribal council was a minor equity partner in the project. MacIssac’s challenge came at a public meeting in Sackville on Oct. 14. The documents released by N.B. Power had been submitted to the utility in August 2024 as part of ProEnergy’s bid on the project. N.B. Power announced in July 2025 that it had selected ProEnergy to build the project, which is currently undergoing a provincial environmental impact assessment and a review with the Energy and Utilities Board. The bid documents include a letter of support signed by tribal council manager Jim Ward and a formal letter of intent signed by Ward and executives from ProEnergy.The recently released documents include a letter of support for the project signed by Jim Ward, general manager of the North Shore Mi’kmaq Tribal Council. (Erica Butler/CBC)The agreement confirms that the tribal council would work alongside ProEnergy to help develop the project in exchange for an earned equity share, but the details of that share are redacted. The agreement indicates that if ProEnergy’s bid were to be successful, the two parties would come up with a shareholder agreement before substantial work on the project began.At a public meeting in August, Tristan Jackson, CEO of the council’s new investment fund, Nikutik LP, said that the group had an option that would grant it a 2.5 per cent equity stake and the ability to buy up to 33% in equity.‘Soft’ consideration on offerThe letter shows that the tribal council offered “exclusive partnership” with ProEnergy as the proponent for the project, after having considered offers from other companies. It also says the partnership offer “may be viewed as a “soft” consideration” for the project.The letter commits the tribal council to “proactively bringing full support to the project team to successfully deliver the project.” But while it points out there’s no guarantee of community approval, it offers the council’s “strong track record of success in educating and bringing along community support for sensitive [redacted].”The North Shore Mi’kmaq Tribal Council is a non-profit group that provides advisory and technical services to seven member First Nations in the province.The ProEnergy project is currently in the beginning stages a Mi’gmaw rights impact assessment, a process conducted by another group, Mi’gmawe’l Tplu’taqnn Inc., the consultative body for eight of the nine Mi’gmaq First Nations in New Brunswick. Project size could eventually doubleThe bid documents also indicate that N.B. Power wants the capacity of the natural gas plant to eventually double.Brotman Generating Station in Rosharon, Texas, has similar components and layout as the project that ProEnergy has proposed to build in rural Tantramar. (ProEnergy)The utility’s original request for expressions of interest asked for companies to provide a capacity of 400 MW, “with option to expand.”ProEnergy has submitted environmental impact assessment documents seeking approval to build a plant with 10 gas-fired turbines capable of generating up to 500 MW of electricity. But the letter of intent of intent between ProEnergy and the Tribal Council refers to “an eventual total of 800 MW for the Project.”ABOUT THE AUTHORErica Butler is a reporter with CBC New Brunswick. She lives in Sackville and works out of the Moncton newsroom. You can send story tips to erica.butler@cbc.ca.
Gas plant documents confirm Mi’kmaw group’s strong interest, but no deal
