CBRM council pledges half a million dollars toward university's capital campaign

Tom Ayers · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 19, 2025 3:12 PM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Cape Breton University's superior fundraising run is getting a astir half-a-million-dollar boost from Cape Breton Regional Municipality.

CBRM councillors made the pledge Tuesday to assistance the assemblage wage for buildings and infrastructure, arsenic good arsenic pupil scholarships, done its Forever CBU campaign.

Mayor Cecil Clarke said it's not unheard of for assembly to supply ample gifts for the bully of the community.

"Previously, assembly had made a donation to the infirmary instauration for $500,000 implicit aggregate years," helium said successful an interview. "That carried implicit during my archetypal word from the erstwhile administration, truthful it's not similar assembly has not made assemblage investments successful the past."

CBU president David Dingwall asked for a donation of $5 per idiosyncratic based connected CBRM's population, and assembly unanimously agreed.

In 2023, Statistics Canada reported CBRM's colonisation had reached astir 105,000. At $5 a head, that would beryllium astatine slightest $470,000.

Dingwall said CBU is much than fractional mode to its extremity of raising $205 million.

Coun. Steve Gillespie told assembly that improvements astatine CBU nether Dingwall person been "astounding," particularly with the coming aesculapian schoolhouse that volition bid doctors locally.

"The Cape Breton aesculapian field is astir apt the astir important one," helium said.

However, Gillespie questioned however CBRM would beryllium capable to marque specified a ample contribution.

Clarke said the wealth could beryllium dispersed retired implicit respective years, oregon it whitethorn beryllium funded retired of an anticipated fund surplus that could beryllium much than $1 cardinal by the extremity of March, if determination are nary last-minute snowstorms.

"If the remainder of this month Mother Nature stays benignant to us, it whitethorn assistance america find immoderate other resources," helium said.

Staff person been keeping a database of spending priorities implicit $25,000 for assembly to see if the surplus materializes, and Clarke said the CBU donation is present being added.

"It volition beryllium portion of a bigger database of things, and again I anticipation that the year-end surplus whitethorn beryllium capable that we tin accommodate this and different priorities."

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