P.E.I. premier calls for improved ferry service to province in 2025

Year-end interview with PEI Premier Dennis King CTV’s Todd Battis interviews P.E.I. Premier Dennis King about the issues that impacted the province in 2024.

Prince Edward Island Premier Dennis King doesn’t mince words when he’s asked about the state of the ferry service to and from the province.

“I couldn’t be any more dissatisfied (with the ferry service),” King told CTV News Atlantic’s Todd Battis during a year-end interview. “I mean, the last 18 months or so has been just a trainwreck when it comes to our ferry service.

“I know there are factors outside of the control of anyone in Ottawa, or anyone with Northumberland Ferries, anyone with Transport Canada, but at the same time, our province relies on two ferry services consistently, across the board between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, for trade, for our economy, for tourism. It’s such a big, big aspect of our success.”

P.E.I. ferry service has been plagued with problems for years. In July 2022, the MV Holiday Island ferry’s engine room caught fire, forcing more than 200 people to abandon ship at Wood Islands.

The MV Confederation went out of service after colliding with a wharf last September. It underwent repairs and returned to service in early December before being recalled due to “technical issues.”

“To not have that service for 18 months is totally unacceptable,” King said. “It’s very, very frustrating. It needs to be improved.

“I feel they’re trying to do the best they can, but this is, you know, the world we live in now; doing the best is not enough anymore. I really, really need that service. We need that service to be improved and restored as quickly as possible.”

King recently spoke with the prime minister in person about the ferry service and he said Trudeau seemed confident the two ferry services would resume in the 2025 season.

“I take him at his word for that,” King said. “I believe they’re working at breakneck speed to do that. It’s part of Transport Canada’s, you know, emergency measures plan.

“If something were to happen to the (Confederation Bridge), having two ferry services to connect us to the mainland is part of their own transportation plan.”

Tax holiday surprise

King said he also discussed the federal GST/HST holiday with Trudeau during his visit to P.E.I. King noted he was surprised by the decision and did not get any advanced warning.

“I wish we could have had a little bit more or at least a little bit of collaboration and lead time with the federal government to say, ‘If we’re going to carve out some things, you know, we would like to do this or that,’” he said. “Will it put a hole in our budget as we look toward the final quarter of our fiscal year? Yes.

“We have estimated initially about $14 million. The parliamentary budget officer says it might be as high as $20 million.”

King said they have agreed not to be reimbursed for the holiday losses and he hopes the federal government will consider offering these kinds of breaks for Islanders.

“If you really want it to help decrease the cost of living for Islanders, we could have addressed things like the bridge tolls and the ferry tolls,” he said. “We did take the time to say, you know, good collaboration, a good partnership requires conversation, which we didn’t have.

“I do think in 2025 for sure we will have a federal election and I think any party who wants to win seats here in Prince Edward Island would see the advantage of saying, ‘We will reduce the tolls on the bridge and the ferry.’”

Possible tariffs

Like the other Canadian premiers, King has been involved with conversations about how to address President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to enact 25 per cent tariffs on Canada.

King said he’s spoken with New England governors to play into the longstanding friendship between the two countries.

“I think if anyone has been watching U.S. politics since 2014, I think everything the incoming president says should be taken at face value and be taken seriously,” King said. “I hope at the end of the day that common sense and our long-term connection and friendship and economic partnership with the United States will take precedence over everything else.”

Immigration

Earlier this year, the P.E.I. government 100 economic immigration spaces to Newfoundland and Labrador. King said his party is trying to manage the province’s population growth, which has been leading the country for years.

“We really wanted to level out to, the best we could, our growth,” he said. “My goal as premier has to always be whether you’re living here or whether you choose to live here or want to come live here, when you’re here, you have a place to live. You can access the services you need, and you can have a good quality of life. With the housing and infrastructure challenges we have here, that’s becoming more and more difficult.

“I don’t blame immigration for all of that, but trying to level out our growth and to be as targeted as we can is something that has worked for us so far.”

Possible election?

New Brunswick and Nova Scotia both went through provincial elections in late 2024, but King, who was elected premier in 2019 and re-elected in 2023, is certain P.E.I. won’t follow suit.

“I can tell you that with authority there won’t be an election in P.E.I. in 2025,” he said. “The next election is in 2027. I mean, we just had one, you know, 16, 18 months ago.

“I guess there’ll be a federal election at some point in 2025 that’ll captivate our attention.”

For more Prince Edward Island news visit our dedicated provincial page.