How the Fredericton Exhibition Grounds expropriation will end is a ‘toss-up,’ says lawyer

Oliver Pearson · CBC News

· Posted: Nov 07, 2025 5:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 12 hours ago

The City of Fredericton is moving up with its program to footwear a fistful of businesses and the New Brunswick Exhibition disconnected the Exhibition Grounds.

But the city's chances of occurrence are a "toss-up," says Robert Pineo, a Halifax-based expropriation and litigation lawyer with much 2 decades of acquisition successful the field.

The city's determination to expropriate was announced connected Sept. 22 during a assembly meeting.

The announcement became authoritative connected Oct. 9, giving funny parties until Nov. 9 to object.

Pineo described this arsenic a “rare” lawsuit due to the fact that the metropolis and the accumulation radical some person a nationalist intent connected the spot astatine the borderline of downtown Fredericton, adjacent Wilmot Park. 

WATCH | How would the Exhibition Grounds expropriation work?:

Public intent is astir however the onshore volition beryllium utilized to payment the assemblage aft expropriation. The metropolis indispensable supply its reasoning to validate the expropriation.

Pineo said mostly it’s casual to beryllium nationalist purpose, and “almost always” the expropriation crushed is valid. 

Based connected metropolis council's September resolutions, the nationalist intent connected the city's broadside is to marque the land, already owned by the city, disposable for housing, a mediate school, commercialized abstraction and indoor and outdoor assemblage spaces.

But Pineo said the exhibition’s cultivation events and fairs and the property's presumption arsenic a community-gathering spot are besides valid nationalist purposes.

“It could beryllium an absorbing statement that … the presumption quo is simply a valid nationalist intent and the expropriation shouldn't spell forward.”

Most cases Pineo sees successful his signifier successful New Brunswick and Nova Scotia impact backstage landowners with nary nationalist purpose.

Some uncommon factors

The past of the Exhibition Grounds, and its usage for accumulation purposes, goes backmost astir 200 years. N.B. Ex has been leasing the onshore from the metropolis for $1 a twelvemonth since 1948. The existent lease is simply a 21-year word that expires successful December 2031.

Pineo said determination are different aspects that marque the Exhibition Grounds lawsuit unusual.

He said expropriation is "the taking of onshore by an authorized authority, usually a government."

In this case, the information the metropolis is the landowner is unusual. But the metropolis is filing to expropriate the leasehold interest, meaning immoderate idiosyncratic that holds a lease connected the land.

Pineo said that successful the discourse of expropriation, a lease is considered a close to the property.

The accumulation radical — the sanction connected the expropriation announcement is Fredericton Exhibition Ltd. — subleases the spot to Tim Hortons, William’s Seafood, Feeds’n Needs and Fredericton Homeless Shelters, who are each listed successful the notice.

“It's uncommon that an expropriation takes spot of a spot that has, you know, antithetic commercialized activities taking spot connected it,” Pino said.

N.B. Ex declined an interview. CBC News has tried to scope the owners of Tim Hortons and William's Seafood astir the expropriation but they did not respond.

Feeds'n Needs spokesperson Brian Wedge would lone say, successful an email, that the institution received the announcement of expropriation but it's "business arsenic usual" until discussions with the metropolis and N.B. Ex.

William's Seafood operates connected the Exhibition Grounds done a sublease with the New Brunswick Exhibition. If expropriation is successful, the metropolis says, the edifice tin proceed until its lease ends successful 2028. (Oliver Pearson/CBC)

Pineo compared the expropriation of the Exhibition Grounds to expropriating a buying mall, with aggregate businesses staking their claims. He’s ne'er heard of a lawsuit similar this successful Atlantic Canada.

The metropolis said successful a Sept. 22 quality merchandise that excluding the exhibition, “existing tenants of the tract volition beryllium capable to stay for the duration of their existent lease agreements.”

The leases for Tim Hortons and William's Seafood's expires successful 2028. Feeds’n Needs's lease volition expire successful 2026.

The metropolis is besides tied up successful a ineligible conflict with the accumulation implicit the removal of its grandstand, which the metropolis claims poses nationalist information concerns. The accumulation mislaid its situation to the order, and the Oct. 24 compliance deadline has passed, resulting successful regular escalating fines.

Pineo hasn’t seen this benignant of enactment paired with an expropriation lawsuit before.

“To enactment a ticking clip weaponry connected a landowner that's going to outgo them much wealth each time unless they marque an agreement. It conscionable seems like, I'll beryllium fair, truly atrocious timing for the metropolis to person done that.”

Compensation imaginable for losses

The accumulation and the organizations listed successful the expropriation announcement tin entity to the expropriation by filing with the province’s expropriations advisory serviceman by the Nov. 9 deadline.

The officer, François Carrier, an Edmundston lawyer, is autarkic and paid by the province.

More than conscionable leaseholders and N.B. Ex person the close to situation the city's expropriation attempt. For example, those who support horses astatine the Exhibition Grounds could effort to beryllium their involvement to the expropriation officer. (Michael Heenan/CBC)

The close to situation extends beyond the accumulation and organizations connected the lot.

Pineo said that anyone with a “right oregon interest” successful the onshore tin entity arsenic agelong arsenic they tin beryllium their engagement successful the property.

The parties objecting tin proceed arsenic 1 radical oregon marque their cases individually. If nary objections are made, past the expropriation is considered valid.

Everyone who is expropriated tin question compensation for their losses, which are determined by the expropriation officer, said Pineo. Losses could see moving costs, caller infrastructure and nonaccomplishment successful revenue.

Right to entreaty officer's decision

Also, the metropolis whitethorn person to wage a company's owe and the outgo of buying different spot oregon if a caller lease is much costly than the existing agreement.

The metropolis has said it volition wage the New Brunswick Exhibition $3.45 cardinal for the remaining six years of its lease. 

"The accumulation authorization has the close to find what its existent losses are and assertion for those,” Pineo said.

The metropolis besides said it was consenting to negociate leasing a information of the onshore to the accumulation nether a caller agreement.

If the expropriation is challenged, determination volition beryllium a nationalist proceeding earlier the expropriation officer, which indispensable beryllium held nary much than 30 days aft the Nov. 9 deadline. If the accumulation oregon immoderate different enactment loses, they tin instrumentality the determination to the New Brunswick Court of Appeal.

Pineo said it's hard to reverse a proceeding decision, and nationalist outcry would person a amended accidental astatine quashing the expropriation.