Rivière-du-Loup, Que., loses ferry port to Cacouna

The Quebec government has announced that the home port of the Bas-Saint-Laurent ferry service will move from Rivière-du-Loup to a smaller municipality about 13 kilometres east, breaking with a 115-year-old maritime tradition.

Moving the port to Cacouna will be a far more economical option, according to the government. The change is expected to take place in 2028.

Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault, MNA for Rivière-du-Loup–Témiscouata Amélie Dionne and CEO of the Société des traversiers du Québec Greta Bédard said at a news conference on Thursday that the decision would have significant consequences on the Rivière-du-Loup community.

The Société des Traversiers du Québec (STQ) plans to invest $170.5 million to build new temporary facilities at the Gros-Cacouna port to have it up and running by 2028 — when the Crown corporation's contract with Nova Scotian company Clarke expires.

As of 2031, the new wharf is expected to include a loading and unloading ramp, a waiting area and a river terminal, all of which will be built east of the Gros-Cacouna port. The location was chosen to avoid disrupting ongoing industrial port activities and to protect the ferry from bad weather.

Contrary to what Guilbault suggested in the news release for the announcement, the STQ hasn't committed to offering a ferry service year-round.

The STQ has only said that a move to Cacouna would improve services. However, the crossing will be 20 minutes longer.

The decision marks the end of more than four years of studies. The STQ looked at three potential sites for the ferry: one at the port of Rivière-du-Loup — which would have required an extension of the wharf — and two others at the Gros-Cacouna port.

A new ship, the Saaremaa I, will be making the crossing between Cacouna and Saint-Siméon. It will be replacing the Trans St-Laurent, which is nearing the end of its lifespan.

Maintaining service at Rivière-du-Loup would have cost the provincial government $665 million. Over 25 years, the total investment to keep the current port would rise to $950 million, compared to $474.5 million if the port were in Cacouna, according to the STQ.

For years, the STQ has been suggesting that moving the port to the neighbouring municipality would be more advantageous, especially because the dredging work required to maintain a safe water depth for navigation would be less intensive. Those routine operations are getting costlier, the STQ said.

The news is likely to upset people in Rivière-du-Loup, where elected officials and businesspeople have made several public appeals for the ferry's century-old home port to be maintained. They also criticized the government authorities' opaque decision-making process.

The government says it is committed to setting up a committee to revitalize the Pointe-de-Rivière-du-Loup sector.