Confederation Bridge toll cut to $20

The cost of getting on and off Prince Edward Island is about to drop significantly.

Starting Friday, the federal government will cut Confederation Bridge tolls from just over $50 to $20 for all vehicles. Fares on ferry routes connecting Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick will also be reduced by 50 per cent, with fuel surcharges eliminated.

Additionally, Ottawa is funding Marine Atlantic Inc. to halve fares between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, and to freeze freight rates.

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the changes Monday morning during a visit to Albany, P.E.I. near the Confederation Bridge.

“We’re doing that to bring Atlantic Canada closer together, bring Canadians closer together,” Carney said.

The long-anticipated changes are in line with campaign commitments Carney made earlier this year to make transportation more affordable across Atlantic Canada in the face of a trade war with the U.S.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to implement even higher tariffs on Canadian goods – from 25 to 35 per cent – is also set to apply Friday.

Nearly one million vehicles cross it every year. Business leaders say every truckload of supplies drives up the price of operating on the island.

Frederic Gionet, Atlantic director with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, said the province’s potato industry alone faces about $7 million in direct and indirect toll-related costs every year.

“For them, it’s a tax on their industry, versus those on the mainland,” Gionet said.

In a statement to CTV News, Greg Donald, general manager of the P.E.I Potato Board wrote: “Every bit helps in today’s climate of rising costs… any breaks in transportation costs is good news for our growers and the broader industry.”

Ferry routes are also key to moving more than just passengers. They carry essential goods – including produce, medical supplies and home heating fuel – across the region.

“Cutting those costs means more reliable supply chains and lower prices for consumers,” said Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s minister of transport and internal trade.

While the toll reduction is expected to be popular, critics have raised concerns about shifting the cost burden to taxpayers – including maintenance. But P.E.I.’s Premier Rob Lantz say it’s about fairness.

“It’s often the Champlain Bridge in Montreal that’s cited, a bridge that was replaced at great cost to Canadian taxpayers with no toll,” he said.

In B.C., Premier David Eby didn’t quite agree.

“We have to watch the federal government show up on the east coast and subsidize ferry users that already get a $300 subsidy per each $1 that a B.C. ferry user gets,” Eby said.

The Confederation Bridge stretches 12.9 kilometres and is billed as the world’s longest bridge over ice-covered waters. It’s a federally owned asset, built at a cost of $1 billion and opened in 1997. It’s currently operated by Strait Crossing Bridge Ltd., a private company.

In July, frustration was growing over the lack of a firm timeline to deliver on the promised toll cuts. Egmont MP Robert Morrissey, who served in the provincial government that oversaw the bridge’s development, said negotiations needed to take place between the federal government and the bridge’s private operator to reach a workable deal.

Canada’s deal with the operator ends in 2032. Before then, officials will be back at the negotiating table – and local politicians say the next fight is for a free crossing.