LOCATION: Eastern Canada
ISSUE/SOURCE: Vessel Acquisitions to Ensure Service Continuity for the Eastern Canada Ferry Services and Marine Atlantic Inc.
DATE: July 2025
SUGGESTED RESPONSES
- Canadians and businesses in Eastern Canada depend on ferry services to support and grow the regional economy, and to keep communities connected.
- The ferry services supported by the Government of Canada are essential interprovincial transportation links that support the regional economy, and may be the primary means of transportation of people and goods to and from communities.
- Transport Canada and Marine Atlantic Inc. have taken steps to ensure reliable service in the region by acquiring replacement vessels, including:
- MV Fundy Rose which came into service in 2015. This vessel was acquired by Transport Canada to replace the former MV Princess of Acadia, which was at the end of its lifecycle;
- MV Madeleine II which came into service in 2021. This vessel was acquired by Transport Canada to replace the former MV Madeleine, which was at the end of its lifecycle;
- MV Ala’suinu which came into service in 2024 with Marine Atlantic Inc., replacing the MV Atlantic Vision. The Ala’suinu is being chartered for five years and Marine Atlantic has the option to purchase it after the lease period; and
- MV Northumberland which came into service in 2025. This vessel was acquired by Transport Canada to replace the former MV Holiday Island, which was removed from service due to an onboard fire.
- Transport Canada and Marine Atlantic Inc. have an obligation to ensure reliable and predictable service to users, while meeting traffic demand.
- As there were no suitable replacement vessels available in Canada to replace ferries nearing the end of their service lives, both Transport Canada and Marine Atlantic Inc. looked to the international market to find solutions. The decisions to acquire or charter replacement vessels were made with the objective of enabling safe and reliable services for years to come.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Eastern Canada Ferry Services
- Through the Ferry Services Contribution Program, Transport Canada provides funding to private operators to support three interprovincial ferry services in Eastern Canada, including service between: (i) Wood Islands, Prince Edward Island and Caribou, Nova Scotia; (ii) Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Quebec and Souris, Prince Edward Island; and (iii) Saint John, New Brunswick and Digby, Nova Scotia. The vessels and terminals used to provide the services are owned by Transport Canada and are leased to the operators for a nominal amount.
- The MV Northumberland was acquired by Transport Canada to replace the former MV Holiday Island to ensure a two-vessel peak season service that meets traffic demand. The vessel was built in Norway and was acquired by Canada following a successful Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN) where no other suppliers submitted a proposal that met Transport Canada’s requirements.
- The MV Madeleine II was acquired by Transport Canada to replace the former MV Madeleine, which was at the end of its lifecycle. The vessel was built in Spain and was acquired by Canada following a successful ACAN where no other suppliers submitted a proposal that met Transport Canada’s requirements.
- The MV Fundy Rose was acquired by Transport Canada to replace the former MV Princess of Acadia, which was at the end of its lifecycle. The vessel was built in Korea and was used to provide service in Greece. In November 2013, the Government issued a Public Notice for the planned purchase of an existing ferry. Following an evaluation process, which involved identifying and assessing the suitability of candidate vessels from all over the world, including Canada, the MV Blue Star Ithaki was selected.
Marine Atlantic Inc (MAI)
- Marine Atlantic Inc. is a Crown Corporation that operates at arm’s-length of the Government and is responsible for decisions related to its capital investments.
- A distinguishing feature of a Crown corporation, versus a department or agency, is that it is not subject to all government policies – such as procurement policies – allowing it to operate in a more commercially oriented manner.
- For the Ala’suinu, its newest vessel, Marine Atlantic Inc. undertook a competitive process open to domestic and international bidders to supply a new vessel under a five-year charter agreement. The process was overseen by a fairness monitor. Through this process, Stena North Sea Ltd., a European company, was selected as the preferred supplier to provide the custom-built vessel and contracted CMI Jinling (Weihai) Shipyard to build the vessel.
- The Government’s role in the process was ensuring that Marine Atlantic Inc. had a robust, open, competitive procurement process overseen and validated by a fairness monitor.
- The charter agreement includes an option for Marine Atlantic Inc. to purchase the vessel but, at this time, Stena remains the owner of the vessel.