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The federal government has added Anticosti Island to its Tentative List for World Heritage Sites, and the local mayor is overjoyed by the news.

Federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna made the announcement Wednesday morning.

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The criterion for selection of the island that best supported Anticosti’s candidacy was the presence of fossils, according to the Parks Canada website, which notes the geological eras represented by the specimens have “no equivalent” elsewhere on the planet.

The government’s choice clearly left the mayor of the island, which is in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and has only 200 full-time residents, delighted.

“We’re very proud and most of all grateful,” Mayor John Pineault said in a statement.

He thanked his fellow citizens and all those who gave their time and energy “so that the entire world could know of our island and its exceptional characteristics.”

In total, eight locations across the country were added to the federal government’s list of UNESCO world heritage site candidates.