Northumberland Ferries Limited (NFL) is a ferry company operating in eastern Canada and headquartered in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. NFL is also the owner of subsidiary Bay Ferries Limited (which used to include the Bay Ferries Great Lakes brand) through its holding company.
NFL has operated the ferry service that carries the Trans-Canada Highway across the eastern part of the Northumberland Strait between Wood Islands, Prince Edward Island and Caribou, Nova Scotia since it was established in 1941 by the Government of Canada. This service is seasonal and only operates between the months of May and December on account of heavy sea ice and the lack of icebreaking ferries. NFL also operates the ferry terminals in Wood Islands and Caribou, both of which are owned by the Government of Canada.
Until 2022, NFL operated two vessels owned by the Government of Canada: MV Confederation, built in 1993, and MV Holiday Island, built in 1971. On July 22, 2022, Holiday Island suffered a fire, causing ferry crossings to be cancelled.[1] The MV Saaremaa 1 was loaned by the Société des traversiers du Québec as a temporary replacement, and began operations on August 20, 2022.[2] While Confederation has been operated exclusively by NFL since she was built, Holiday Island joined NFL in 1997 after being declared surplus by previous operator Marine Atlantic (who operated the vessel between Cape Tormentine, New Brunswick and Borden-Carleton, Prince Edward Island) upon completion of the Confederation Bridge. Following the 2022 fire, Holiday Island was declared by Transport Canada to be beyond repair and would be scrapped.[3] The Federal Government purchased the Norwegian ferry MV Fanafjord in 2023, and in 2028 a brand new ferry is expected to be delivered.[4]
Fares are paid only when exiting Prince Edward Island. The other major crossing of the Northumberland Strait, the Confederation Bridge from Prince Edward Island to New Brunswick, does likewise. Therefore, travellers entering the island on the ferry and exiting on the bridge or vice versa only need pay for one of the links.
The route has long been subsidized by Transport Canada;[5] under the Ferry Services Contribution Program, the subsidy was most recently extended to 2027.[6]
This terminal serves Nova Scotia, and is located at the North end of Highway 106, a spur route of the Trans-Canada Highway. The terminal was constructed following the formation of Northumberland Ferries in 1941, and has received numerous upgrades since its construction. At the time of opening, the ferry was only accessible via Three Brooks Road. During the Canada-wide construction of the Trans-Canada Highway in the 1960s, Highway 106 was built providing the service with direct access to the national highway network. At this time, the terminal was expanded to handle more vehicle traffic due to the opening of the highway. A new terminal building was constructed in the early 1970s, and is still used today. The terminal also received a major upgrade including new docking infrastructure, terminal renovations, vehicle lanes and parking prior to the 1993 introduction of the high capacity MV Confederation, which is significantly larger than the other ferries running at the time.
This terminal serves Prince Edward Island, and is located at the east end of Route 1, the Trans Canada Highway, and is adjacent to Wood Islands Provincial Park. Like the Caribou terminal, it was constructed following the formation of Northumberland ferries in 1941. During the early 1990s, the terminal received a major upgrade, including a completely new terminal building and docking infrastructure to accommodate MV Confederation. The terminal building received renovations in 2017 which saw the interior modernized, and includes televisions and new seating areas. The previous terminal still stands today, located on the opposite side of the vehicle lanes from the current terminal, and is used for storage.