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Abstract
This study explores the origins of the Mactaquac multi-purpose hydroelectric development, a high modernist mega-project built along New Brunswick’s St. John River during the 1960s. Informed by Tennessee Valley Authority multi-purpose planning and supported by the availability of federal regional development funds, the New Brunswick Electric Power Commission (NBEPC) transformed Mactaquac from a simple dam into a rural modernization scheme. When a vocal opposition emerged, led by the Association for the Preservation and Development of the Saint John River in its Natural State, NBEPC engineers launched an aggressive – and ultimately successful – public relations strategy designed to silence Mactaquac’s critics by linking the project with progress and modernity. Résumé Cette étude explore les origines de l’aménagement hydroélectrique à usages multiples de Mactaquac, un méga-barrage moderne construit sur le fleuve Ste-Jean, au Nouveau-Brunswick, dans les années 1960. S’appuyant sur la planification à usages multiples réalisée par la Tennessee Valley Authority et encouragée par la disponibilité de fonds fédéraux destinés au développement régional, la Commission d’Énergie électrique du Nouveau-Brunswick (CEENB) a transformé le simple barrage de Mactaquac en un projet de modernisation rurale. Lorsqu’une vive opposition se fit entendre, dirigée par l’Association for the Preservation and Development of the Saint John River in its Natural State (Association pour la conservation et la mise en valeur du fleuve Saint-Jean dans son état naturel), les ingénieurs de la CEENB lancèrent une vigoureuse stratégie de relations publiques destinée à faire taire les critiques de Mactaquac – et couronnée de succès – en présentant le projet comme un symbole de progrès et de modernité.Copyright for articles published in this journal is retained by the author(s), with Acadiensis being granted a non-exclusive licence to each and every right in the work throughout the world. After publication of the work, the author(s) shall have the right to self-archive the work and to reprint the work in whole or in part in books authored by or edited by the author(s) without the payment of any fee. In these other formats, however, the author or authors are required to acknowledge the original publication of the work in the pages of the journal. In the case of any requests to reprint the work, Acadiensis will require a standard permission fee -- to be divided equally between the journal and the author. In the event that such requests are received by the author(s), the author(s) shall direct such requests to the journal.