EASTERN CANADA FERRY SERVICES
LOCATION: EASTERN CANADA
Issue: EASTERN CANADA FERRY Services
Date: March 17, 2021
Suggested ResponseS
- The Government of Canada supports three inter-provincial ferry services in Eastern Canada, including service between: Saint John (New Brunswick) and Digby (Nova Scotia); Wood Islands (Prince Edward Island) and Caribou (Nova Scotia); and Magdalean Islands (Quebec) and Souris (Prince Edward Island).
- Budget 2019 provided funding to build two new vessels to replace the MV Madeleine and MV Holiday Island. The Government of Canada is working with Chantier Davie to design the two new ferries.
- The Government of Canada acquired the MV Villa de Teror, renamed the MV Madeleine II, to replace the MV Madeleine who had reached the end of its life cycle.
- The MV Madeleine II is expected to enter service in June 2021 and will ensure safe and reliable ferry service until the new replacement ferry, is ready in 2026/27. The MV Madeleine will be disposed in an environmentally-conscious manner.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
- The MV Madeleine and MV Holiday Islandare at the end of their lifecycles. The Government is working with Chantier Davie on the designs for the new ferries. A contruction contract is expected to be awarded in Fall 2022 or early 2023.
- The MV Madeleine II was sailed back to Canada by the ferry operator, Coopérative de Transport Maritime et Aérien (CTMA), and arrived in Cap-aux-Meules on March 23, 2021.
- The MV Madeleine has moved to the Port of Sydney, NS, where it will remain until Public Services and Procurement Canada issues a contract for the vessel’s disposal. The vessel remains under the care and control of CTMA.