P.E.I. premier asks Ottawa for timeline on bridge and ferry toll reductions

Winnipeg Free Press

28-05-2025

FREDERICTON – The premier of Prince Edward Island is asking the federal government for an update on the timeline to reduce the tolls for the Confederation Bridge and Northumberland Ferries to improve interprovincial trade to and from the mainland.
Rob Lantz said in a letter to federal Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland that bridge and ferry tolls are seen as a significant trade barrier, increasing everyday costs.
'As discussed, these tolls continue to represent the most significant internal trade barrier facing our province,' he said in the letter dated May 16.
'Nearly every good moving to and from Prince Edward Island depends on these routes and the associated costs place a real and ongoing burden on our economy. They reduce the competitiveness of island businesses, increasing the cost of living and limit our ability to participate fully in Canada's domestic market.'
His government has done its part to remove interprovincial trade barriers, he said, including passing of the Interprovincial Trade and Mobility Act.
Lantz also noted that patients, students and workers rely on the bridge and ferry for access to health care, education and essential services.
The Confederation Bridge stretches across 12.9-kilometres, and is billed as Canada's longest flyover. It's a federally owned asset, costing $1 billion to build. It is managed by Strait Crossing Bridge Ltd., a private company that has the exclusive right to collect all tolls until 2032.
Transport Canada spokeswoman Sau Sau Liu said in an email the annual traffic on the Confederation Bridge is about 990,000 vehicles.
Strait Crossing received funding from Transport Canada to avoid increasing the tolls, and the charge remains at the 2022 rate of $50.25 per passenger vehicle, she said.
The federal government paid the company $2.87 million in 2021 and $1.62 million in 2022 to cover lost revenue because of COVID-19, Liu said.
It also paid the company $2.5 million in 2023, $4.5 million in 2024 and $5.4 million in 2025 in lieu of increasing tolls for the bridge users for those years, she said.
Alexis Reynaud, spokesman for Strait Crossing Bridge, did not share how much the company has collected in tolls per year since 2019.
'Strait Crossing Bridge Limited is a private organization. The information you are looking for is confidential,' he said in an email.
Northumberland Ferries is headquartered in Charlottetown and operates ferry services between the three Maritime provinces and Maine.
The ferry charges $23 per person between Wood Islands, P.E.I., and Caribou, N.S. Between Saint John, N.B., and Digby, N.S., it charges $71 during off-season. The rates go up to $91 during peak season, which runs from late June to mid-October.
Liu said the ferry service between Wood Islands, P. E.I., and Caribou, N.S., operates from May 1 to Dec. 20, and serves around 275,000 a year.
Between 2019-20 and 2023-24, the federal government gave, on average, about $17 million per year to Northumberland Ferries, she said.
Kelly Williams, director of corporate services for Northumberland Ferries, said the fares amount to about $6 million on average during a 'normal' season.
During the election campaign, the federal Liberals promised to lower the Confederation Bridge tolls by more than half — from $50 to $20 — and by at least half for ferries on certain routes.
In the throne speech Tuesday, the government said internal trade barriers cost the country about $200 billion each year. While numerous premiers, including those of Atlantic provinces, have taken steps to tear down those trade barriers, the government promised to introduce legislation by Canada Day to remove all remaining federal barriers.
However, a statement from Freeland's office did not give a timeline on when the government would reduce tolls.
'Ferry service is essential for tourists, residents and businesses who need to have safe and reliable options to travel,' the statement said.
'That's why we're making the Confederation Bridge, Northumberland and Marine Atlantic, and the Coopérative de Transport Maritime et Aérien Ferries more affordable. We will ensure fair and equal treatment for PEI's bridge and ferry access.'
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 27, 2025.