An old sign still remains in Fredericton where the federal and provincial governments jointly announce an infrastructure project. Now, the federal government has ordered its own signs on all projects. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)      A new federal government edict may be causing many Canadian drivers to think they are seeing double as they drive past infrastructure projects.

Government signs announcing projects, such as highway improvements or new buildings, normally featured both the provincial and federal logos to show who was funding the initiative.

But in a July email obtained by CBC News, the federal government told the provinces that Ottawa wants its own sign on every project and if the provincial government wants to be associated with it, it would need to build its own sign.

"The federal government opted to forgo the tradition of one sign, and informed us it's going to have to be two separate signs," said Bruce MacFarlane, a spokesman for New Brunswick's Regional Development Corp., the government agency that oversees federal-provincial partnerships.

MacFarlane said the tradition had always been for a single sign, but now when he goes to infrastructure announcements, there are two signs that have to be unveiled.

The federal government has demanded that it have its own highway signs to announce infrastructure projects. Previously, signs would feature the logos of both the provincial and federal governments. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)

This new order means the duplication of thousands of signs across the country.

A spokesman for federal infrastructure minister John Baird said Ottawa opted to go solo on its road signs because it was in a hurry to get projects going and it didn't want to get bogged down in long discussions with different provinces about signs.

In New Brunswick, these duelling government signs can be spotted along many highways and in front of new buildings. But those extra road signs are not necessarily adding up to higher costs.

MacFarlane said in New Brunswick two small separate signs are cheaper than one big one because they use lighter material and do not need to be reinforced with plywood.

However, he said it's difficult to calculate what the installation cost adds to the total budget because some signs are put up by the province and some by municipalities.