Canada to U.S. ferry service set to resume in 2022 after three year hiatus

HALIFAX — An international ferry service that links Canada with the United States is set to resume next year after being cancelled three years in a row. An update on the Bay Ferries Ltd.

HALIFAXtoday\ Canadian Press

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HALIFAX — An international ferry service that links Canada with the United States is set to resume next year after being cancelled three years in a row. 

An update on the Bay Ferries Ltd. website says its high-speed catamaran ferry service between Yarmouth, N.S. and Bar Harbor, Maine, is expected to start in the spring of 2022.

The last two seasons were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while the 2019 season was scrapped due to ongoing construction at the Bar Harbor terminal.

Bay Ferries, operator of the provincially subsidized ferry service, announced in 2018 it plans to relocate its U.S. entry point from Portland, Maine to Bar Harbor, a route that operated for more than half a century before ending in 2009 when the Nova Scotia government briefly eliminated an annual subsidy.

Yarmouth Mayor Pam Mood says the ferry terminal has had a complete overhaul in anticipation of the upcoming season, expected to run from May to October.

She says the southwestern Nova Scotia port town relies heavily on tourism and the economic spinoffs generated by the catamaran ferry service, known locally as The Cat.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 3, 2021.

The Canadian Press