BATTLE for the BEACH

A Toronto millionaire wanted to build a beachfront mega-cottage on a remote stretch of Prince Edward Island's pristine north shore. Then the locals got wind of it.

- SARAH TRELEAVEN

When Bryson Guptill moved from Ottawa to Prince Edward Island 27 years ago, he found in the tiny island's coastline a kind of sanctuary-a serene landscape that seemed to reward endless days and weeks of exploring. After retiring from his job as a government policy analyst several years ago, Guptill dedicated even more time to his passion. Today he walks the island's shores almost daily, posting regular maps of his hikes to a Facebook group for fellow beach fanatics. Few people know the island's coast as well as he does. But one sunny afternoon in September of 2022, on Blooming Point Beach-a vast stretch of white sand commanding a dramatic view of the Gulf of St. Lawrence-he and his partner, Sue, encountered something that caught them completely off guard.

Three kilometres east of the beach's main parking lot, the pair stumbled upon a construction site. Several excavators surrounded the foundation for a huge new building, shockingly close to the beach. Encircling the site was a wall of armour stone-huge natural boulders, arranged to form a breakwater-extending all the way to the waterline. It made the beach completely untraversable during all but the lowest tides, despite the fact that P.E.I.'s coastal beaches are public property right up to the high tide line, as are beaches across the country.

Guptill was aghast. When he got home, he posted pictures of the site to his Facebook group; within minutes, comments began pouring in. One person called the development "Putin's Palace North." Another complained that P.E.I. was turning into Miami.