Over five years after the closure of its kraft pulp mill in Pictou County, Northern Pulp has announced it will sell its assets, effectively ending discussions surrounding the construction of a new facility in Nova Scotia.
The decision follows the failure of a restart project developed as part of an agreement reached with the Nova Scotia government in May 2024. A feasibility study conducted under this agreement concluded that the proposed project would not achieve the required 14% internal rate of return to justify the investment.
The planned facility—a next-generation bioraffinery in Liverpool with an estimated cost of more than $2.5 billion—was ultimately deemed financially unviable by its proponents.
The asset liquidation will take place under court supervision as part of the protection granted to Northern Pulp under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) since the Pictou mill’s closure in 2020. Proceeds from the sale will be used to:
-
repay creditors,
-
support former employees' pension plans,
-
fund site maintenance and decommissioning, and
-
return any remaining surplus to the province.
The 2020 shutdown resulted in the loss of approximately 300 direct jobs and impacted around 2,000 others across the regional supply chain.
Nova Scotia’s Minister of Natural Resources, Tory Rushton, expressed disappointment at the outcome but emphasized the province’s support throughout the project assessment. He affirmed the government’s continued commitment to attracting new partners for viable industrial development in the forestry and pulp sector.
