Yarmouth ferry service extended into 2026

The Nova Scotia government has extended the seasonal ferry service between Yarmouth and Bar Harbor, Maine, into the 2026 season, citing its tourism benefits.

The province previously had 10-year agreements in place to run the ferry through 2025. It budgeted $21 million for the service this year. The final bill isn't yet known.

"This also gives us the time that we need to start planning for a long-term solution for this service. We know it is high value to Nova Scotians," said Public Works Minister Kim Masland on Tuesday morning during an event aboard the ferry in Yarmouth, N.S.

For the past year, consulting firm 21FSP has been studying the economic impacts of the ferry. Though it was initially contracted to deliver a report this fall, the province said the firm is continuing to collect and analyze data.

On Tuesday, it released a report detailing the findings to date.

"We know our numbers are increasing. We know we need the consistency with the service. We know that Americans are coming here, they're spending lots of money, they're travelling throughout our province," said Masland. 

On Thursday, Bay Ferries said the service transported nearly 50,000 passengers and 20,000 vehicles in 2024, which meant a 28 per cent and 30 per cent increase respectively over the previous season. 

The passenger numbers are roughly on par with 2018, which had the highest recorded number when the ferry travelled to Portland, Maine. 

The progress report found visitors who took the ferry spent a total of about $20.1 million, which the minister said she found a "shocking number" that "proves the reasons why we needed to do this economic impact study."

Masland said she didn't know of a ferry service in the country or beyond that made a profit, saying most of them are subsidized. 

The analysis found the visitors spent an average of eight nights in Nova Scotia and travelled throughout the province. About 71 per cent of people visited parts of southwestern Nova Scotia and about a quarter went as far as Cape Breton. 

It also found 19 per cent of U.S. visitors came to the province by ferry and they are considered "high-value tourists" because of how much they spent and how long they stay. 

Calls for long-term commitment

People from the region at Tuesday's event said they weren't surprised the research showed the ferry service had good value and they want the province to make a long-term commitment. 

Yarmouth Mayor Pam Mood called the extension a "great start" but she said developers need to know the ferry will be running when they're making investments in the area. 

Neil MacKenzie, CEO for the Yarmouth and Acadian Shores Tourism Association, who said he was "thrilled" with the report's findings, said from bus tours to tourism marketing, plans are made years in advance. 

Zach Churchill, the MLA for Yarmouth, said the extension was "victory and vindication" for everyone fighting for the service.

"I have to say it's really satisfying to see people who have been the chief critics of this service change face and actually start supporting this," he said, but he added that a longer commitment remains necessary for businesses that rely on the tourism. 

The final report on the ferry's economic impact is now expected next year.

When 21FSP was awarded the contract, it was valued at $180,000.

If the service is to continue after 2026, the province will need to enter into new agreements with the vessel, operator and U.S. terminal. 

"Obviously we would like to get locked in to the longer term, a longer-term deal. I think that process will be underway to make that happen," said Mark Wilson, president and CEO of Bay Ferries, which operates the service.