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Tourism leaders express concern over the lack of a signed contract for The Cat ferry, which operates between Nova Scotia and Bar Harbor, Maine, as ridership figures rise significantly this year.
YARMOUTH, N.S. – As the busy summer-fall tourism season winds down, there is still no contract for “The Cat” – the Yarmouth-based ferry that runs between Nova Scotia and Bar Harbor, Maine – to operate next year.
“I think it’s important that there are real signals to operators and the tourism industry at large, that the government, our province and the officials will have a deal in place,” said Yarmouth and Acadian Shores Tourism Association CEO Neil MacKenzie. “People who are booking travel need to know that the service will be here and they can plan their vacation ahead of time. ” The final crossing for the ferry will be Oct. 14.
This year, through July, Mackenzie said ferry ridership is up nearly 30 per cent, compared to 2025. The vessel is run by Bay Ferries Ltd., which is headquartered in Charlottetown and operates the ferry service through a contract with the U.S. Navy.
“As a Maritime-owned-and-operated company, Bay Ferries Limited continues to work closely with the Government of Nova Scotia regarding the Nova Scotia-Maine ferry service,” said Bay Ferries corporate services director Kelly Williams in an email to CTV News. “Our team remains committed to delivering value to Nova Scotians and visitors to the province. ” CTV News also reached out to the U.S. Navy, but they were unable to provide a response at this time.
Nova Scotia’s Public Works Minister Fred Tilley recently told reporters he is hopeful that a new long-term ferry contract could soon be signed, but did not offer any details related to the negotiations. Sixteen years ago, Dalhousie University business professor Lorn Sheehan served on a panel that examined the Yarmouth ferry strategy.
“It was really a broad engagement of stakeholders around the economic realities of having that ferry,” said Sheehan, who speculated the trade tensions between Canada and the U.S. could be possibly slowing down contract negotiations. “I think part of the reason that the delay is occurring, is because of the uncertainty in the trade environment,” said Sheehan. “Economically on balance, I think this ferry makes sense. ” According to the town’s mayor, the ferry is a job creator for Yarmouth.
“You’re talking about an entire season of folks going to the gas station, going to the restaurants, shopping in the shops,” said Yarmouth Mayor Pam Mood. For those examining the overall financial viability of the ferry, Sheehan urged people to look at the economic impact for the entire province, not just Yarmouth and the surrounding area.
“It’s obviously important to Yarmouth, but it is also spread out throughout the whole province,” said Sheehan. “When Americans come across, it’s rare that they come to Yarmouth, and go back to Maine. They will go to the wine region in Nova Scotia, Halifax or visit Cape Breton and all these communities enjoy benefit from the ferry. ” MacKenzie said a new contract needs to be signed soon, or the province could lose a lot of tourism business in 2027.
“We know that visitors stay and travel around the province, we know that they are here on average seven or eight days, and we know they are spending more than $3,000 per party,” said MacKenzie. There have been previous interruptions in the ferry crossings between Nova Scotia and Maine. The province cancelled its subsidy to Bay Ferries in 2009, which halted service until 2014. The ferry was also idle during the COVID-19 pandemic because of international travel restrictions.
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