Campobello Island residents will not see their seasonal ferry service extended through the winter months again this year.
Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Jill Green said the ferry will stop operating for the season at the end of December.
That means residents will have no choice but to travel through Maine in order to reach mainland New Brunswick.
“Things are changing with the border rules on November 30th, and we thought that it would be possible that there would be some hiccups when that happens, so we decided to extend the ferry for one more month,” Green said Friday in an interview.
Starting Tuesday, fully-vaccinated Canadians will no longer need a negative PCR test to re-enter Canada if they have been gone less than 72 hours.
The Campobello ferry, which typically runs from June through September, has been operating continuously since June of last year due to restrictions on border travel.
Since that time, Green said the province has subsidized the ferry, operated by East Coast Ferries, to the tune of $500,000.
“There’s no intention at this point to have a year-round [ferry] service for Campobello. This service we provided was because of COVID and recognizing that it was very difficult to traverse through the U.S. and back into Canada again for the residents,” she said.
Green said she has made a commitment to talk to the federal infrastructure and transportation ministers about a year-round ferry service for Campobello, but no talks have been scheduled at this point.
