[thefishingnut]

Originally Posted by RyeJay

This could be the case.

Political opposition against a Maine highway would be from northern New Brunswick. Without vehicle traffic driving through the north, stopping at gas stations, stopping at restaurants, stopping at hotels, the economy of the north would decline even more dramatically.

We'll see what ends up happening. In any case, the strongest population growth in the Maritimes for the long-term will likely be in Halifax -- and at that distance from Quebec, people most often do not desire to drive; therefore, from this perspective there is little reason to invest so much money into the development of a new, non-Canadian highway, when people simply fly to locations in Central Canada.

The impetus for the new road is truck traffic, not cars. Cutting a few hours off the trip from the Maritimes to central Canada for transport trucks would be huge.