At long last, outrageously high interprovincial bridge and ferry tolls will be reduced in Atlantic Canada, and especially in Prince Edward Island, greatly assisting our ability to grow our regional economy.
Ten years after Justin Trudeau announced that he would remove the tolls on the Champlain Bridge in Montreal, completely reversing the national user-pay policy for federally owned infrastructure, and eight years after he promised—in response to a direct question about the toll on Confederation Bridge to Prince Edward Island — that he would “look at what can be done to make sure people are able to travel freely, travel efficiently and openly across this country at modest costs”, Prince Edward Islanders and Atlantic Canadians are catching a financial break.
Prime Minister Mark Carney immediately recognized the regional unfairness of high tolls in Atlantic Canada, as did Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre. In their respective platforms, both addressed the burden that represents the $50.25 toll on Confederation Bridge. Prime Minister Carney also committed to reducing “by more than half” the fares for passengers using the Wood Islands Ferry (currently $91 for a passenger vehicle), the Marine Atlantic service connecting Cape Breton to Newfoundland and Labrador (which can run up to almost $500 for a round trip), and the ferry service between Souris and the Magdalen Islands (again, $220 for a round trip by passenger car).
Unfortunately, for the last decade, Prince Edward Islanders have collectively paid millions in unfair tolls. Many Islanders have spoken to me about the impact tolls have had on their family finances, in particular those who had to travel out-of-province for medical treatment, such as parents of sick children, where one parent would stay with their child while the other would travel back and forth, incurring several hundred dollars in tolls.
I also heard many times about the toll driving up prices for consumers and Prince Edward Island businesses. For instance, in 2018, one exporter spent $66,000 on bridge tolls getting his produce to market; expenses his New Brunswick counterpart—and competitor—did not have to pay.
This reduction will help alleviate the cost of living for all Prince Edward Islanders and reduce expenses for our summer visitors. Atlantic Canadians will all benefit from the reduced cost of moving people and goods in the region.
Prince Edward Islanders are not getting any special treatment, only long overdue results. The reduction in tolls for both the year-round Confederation Bridge and the seasonal Wood Islands Ferry in eastern Prince Edward Island still means that the annual federal subsidy to support these vital infrastructures will remain less than federal government support for the Champlain Bridge in Montreal.
Given that both the Champlain Bridge—which cost over $4 billion to build—and Confederation Bridge—which cost $1 billion—are owned by the Government of Canada, Prince Edward Islanders have long wondered why this double standard where some Canadians benefitted from a toll-free bridge, while others were stuck paying $50.25 to cross, was not being corrected.
For one, when the issue was first raised, too many people sat on their hands rather than join the fight. Compare the Prince Edward Island response to what happened in Quebec: the provincial government requested that the federal government replace the aging Champlain Bridge in Montreal and they agreed that tolls were necessary to pay for the new bridge. With the understanding—and only with that understanding—was the new Champlain Bridge to be built.
Both the Governments of Canada and Quebec agreed on the need for a toll to cover the cost of construction, as was the case with the original Champlain Bridge, which had a toll from its opening in 1962 until 1990, when it was ultimately paid off.
This user-pay policy for federal transportation infrastructure was the standard for Canada.
Then the Government of Quebec switched its position and requested that no toll be charged on the bridge. The mayor of Montreal joined the chorus, along with many other individuals and groups. And in the middle of the 2015 election campaign, Justin Trudeau announced that he would make an exception for Montreal and eliminate the toll.
Quebec spoke with one voice and got the result it wanted.
Now in Prince Edward Island, where although there was widespread acknowledgement among Islanders that we were being gouged and treated like second-class Canadians, too many were silent. The defeatist attitude of a small minority was succinctly summarized in a Letter to the Editor in the Guardian newspaper in 2017 which stated, “forget the tolls fight . . . Concentrate on the possible, not the impossible.”
That lack of unity, compared to Quebec, slowed progress on reducing the tolls. But even slow progress is progress. The first success was the freezing of bridge tolls in 2020, eliminating yearly increases based on inflation. The second is the upcoming reduction of bridge and ferry tolls—to $20 for the Confederation Bridge and “by at least half” for the Wood Islands Ferry (currently $91 for a passenger vehicle)—but that amount is not carved in stone; after all, the federal government is still subsidizing the Champlain Bridge to a much higher degree. Which leaves the third step: efforts to further reduce the toll in the future.
As it stands now, Islanders have achieved a double victory, benefitting Islanders east and west. Because as important as the reduction of tolls on Confederation Bridge, the commitment to maintain the Wood Islands Ferry is equally important. The seasonal ferry service is vital to the economy of Eastern Prince Edward Island, providing direct access to Nova Scotia for commerce and tourism between the two provinces. Furthermore, it provides an important fallback in case Confederation Bridge ever becomes inoperable.
Prince Edward Islanders are finally getting the result they have been advocating for. The ultimate lesson of the past decade is in the value of unity when pursuing our provincial and regional objectives.
Percy Downe is a Senator from Charlottetown.