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OTTAWA — The Liberal government is exploring spending federal cash on a long-considered proposal to link Newfoundland to the mainland.

The proposed link, which could cost up to $2 billion, came up during the fall campaign when the Liberals committed to helping with the project and again in Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna’s mandate letter.

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In the letter, effectively the prime minister’s marching orders to cabinet ministers, McKenna was directed to create a national infrastructure fund for “nation-building projects” and to “start by supporting the Newfoundland-Labrador fixed transportation link.”

The notion of connecting Newfoundland to the mainland with some type of fixed link is a long-running idea. The last major study of the project was done by the provincial government in 2004 and then updated in 2018.

The study estimated it would cost just over $2 billion to build a road tunnel or $1.675 billion to build a rail tunnel, which could shuttle cars on an electric train under the Strait of Belle Isle. It would take 15 years to construct and would not actually cut travel times or significantly reduce costs to transport goods. It also estimated it would cost between $20 and $23 million to complete further studies and engineering work.