Work on new N.S.-P.E.I. ferry suspended, leaving some concerned 'but not surprised'

Construction on a new ferry that would run between Prince Edward Island to Nova Scotia, first announced in 2019, has been on pause for about six months.

The ship would replace the MV Holiday Island, which had to be scrapped after a fire on board in 2022.

But in a Feb. 17 statement to Radio-Canada that CBC News translated from French, Transport Canada — which owns the vessels that make the Northumberland Strait crossings — said all work related to the new ferries has been on hold since July 2025. 

In a separate statement this week, the agency said new decisions are required before work can resume — but didn't provide any further details.

Kent MacDonald, the Liberal MP for P.E.I.'s Cardigan riding, said some some of those changes involve infrastructure upgrades at both Wood Islands, P.E.I., and Caribou, N.S., where the ferries dock on either side of the strait.

The changes include a new breakwater at Wood Islands to stop the channel from filling in with sand and silt, and changes to the docks on both sides in order to accommodate the new ferry.

But MacDonald said he doesn't have a timeline for when those fixes will be complete.

“Last year and the year before, the public had some disruptions in the service that was provided. And we're trying to address those requirements first,” he said, adding that P.E.I. Premier Rob Lantz recently spoke with Prime Minister Mark Carney in Ottawa, and both are committed to the long-term viability of the Wood Islands-Caribou, N.S. ferry service. 

“We're trying to fix some of those peripheral issues around the docks and the channel … to create a long-term, reliable service.”

Transport Canada originally said the Holiday Island replacement would be finished by 2027, then pushed the date back to 2028. As of last fall, it was no longer providing a firm timeline for when the ship would be ready.

The new vessel is being built at the Chantier Davie shipyard in Quebec, and is one of two replacement ferries for eastern Canada. The other will replace MV Madeleine, which runs between the Magdalen Islands and Souris, P.E.I. — work on that ferry has also been paused.

The federal government has already spent nearly $40 million on development for the two vessels. That's on top of the almost $40 million it spent on MV Northumberland, which Transport Canada bought to use alongside MV Confederation on the Nova Scotia-P.E.I. ferry run last summer.

Neither of those ferries is new. Confederation is 32 years old, while Northumberland is 18.

Trish Carter, owner of Galla Designs in Wood Islands, said she is “disheartened” to hear work on the new ferry had been suspended.