The Canso Causeway : regionalism, reconstruction, representation, and results

Abstract

"The Canso Causeway: Regionalism, Reconstruction, Representations, and Results" examines the history, construction and legacy of the Canso Causeway, the permanent link connecting mainland Nova Scotia to Cape Breton Island. The Causeway is presented as both a national reconstruction mega-project and as a provincial cultural icon. These two portrayals provide important vehicles of analysis in framing the way in which the Causeway fits into the post war aims of Canada, Nova Scotia, and in particular, Cape Breton. This thesis weaves together political, social, and cultural history and presents the Causeway's evolution as a symbolic commentary on national, provincial, and local experiences. As the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Canso Causeway approaches it is useful to situate this structure in the Atlantic Canadian experience.