Marine Atlantic passengers still waiting for promised rate cuts from new federal government

Alex Kennedy · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 28, 2025 4:30 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 hours ago

Passengers waiting for the Marine Atlantic ferry accidental they're besides waiting for Prime Minister Mark Carney to travel done connected a committedness to chopped travel rates.

As portion of his platform, Carney announced that his authorities would little the costs for passengers connected Atlantic ferries, including Marine Atlantic, by astatine slightest half. He called ferries captious to Atlantic Canada and the nationalist system successful a station connected X.

Owen Collins, who's from Newfoundland and sailing to Nova Scotia, said rising costs connected the ferry person constricted his quality to travel.

"You travel erstwhile a twelvemonth instead, and present possibly it's doubly a year, you know, due to the fact that it's that expensive. It's crazy, really," Collins told CBC News from the ferry terminal successful Port aux Basques.

Randy Jones of Ontario uses the ferry to entree the state for sightseeing. He believes lowering the complaint would little the obstruction for galore others to bash the same.

"You person to deliberation astir whether you privation to spell implicit determination with the outgo of everything else," helium said.

"We each privation to spell someplace, and to get to Newfoundland and conscionable to spot the beauteous province, it should beryllium done. It should beryllium dropped."

Marine Atlantic ferries besides service arsenic a cardinal introduction constituent for goods and dense instrumentality to Newfoundland.

Louis Brideau, a trucker riding the ferry from Quebec, said the outgo hurts his business. He had planned to depart connected Thursday, but delayed his travel a time due to the fact that it yet saved him money.

A little complaint would person been overmuch much beneficial, helium said.

"They support promising stuff, and … they ne'er bash anything, you know? And it's hard connected people," Brideau said, adding helium feels Carney hasn't lived up to his promises.

But Beth Townsend and Abby Nowakowski, from Ontario, made it a constituent to sojourn Newfoundland's westbound seashore based connected different Carney committedness that was followed done on.

The Canada Strong Pass, which was announced successful April and came into effect connected June 20, made admittance to Gros Morne National Park free.

Townsend hopes the national authorities follows done connected a chopped on ferry summons prices.

"My mentation of that was that they were benignant of catching up and trying to bash a batch of things with the caller furniture and everything, and possibly this is thing that they're hopefully conscionable going to get to successful time," Townsend said.

"But hopefully radical tin clasp them accountable."

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