ST. JOHN’S - On the heels of a busy tourism season — one that saw the Marine Atlantic break records on the North Sydney to Argentia route — a lobby group in Newfoundland and Labrador is calling on the federal government to prepare to meet surging ferry traffic. With bookings for next summer already ahead of pace, the NL Gulf Ferry Coalition wants the federal government to keep the MV Leif Ericson, Marine Atlantic’s soon-to-retire ferry, in service for as long as it possibly can. “It’s already approved for two years more sailing, you know, it would be beneficial to use that,” said Chris Howlett, the owner of Akita Equipment near St. John’s. His trucking company — like others — relies on access to the Newfoundland-Nova Scotia ferry routes to keep goods moving on and off the province. “To me it’s a no brainer … it’s like if your parents gave you a car that was already paid for and you’re a teenager.” A spokesperson for Marine Atlantic told CTV News that no decision has yet been made as to when the Ericson will leave service, although its replacement vessel arrived last month. The Ericson is one of four vessels that Marine Atlantic, the federal ferry operator, has used in 2026 between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. It’s the oldest of the four, built in 1991. Marine Atlantic sails two routes, a Port aux Basques to North Sydney route, and a summertime Argentia to North Sydney route. More than 51,000 crossings have already been booked for 2027, according to spokesperson Darrell Mercer. That advance booking number is up about 32 per cent from what it was at a similar point in 2025, for 2026 travel. “People want to travel. It’s just not for tourism. It’s for a lifeline to Newfoundland and Labrador, for health care, for retail, for trucking, everything else,” said John Devereaux, the chair of Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador’s board. Devereaux and Howlett — both part of the NL Gulf Ferry Coalition — met with Transportation Minister Steve MacKinnon in Ottawa last week. Howlett said long lineups at ferry terminals this summer have started eating into his company’s bottom line, whether he’s paying his drivers to simply wait to get on a vessel, or deciding to have them drop cargo at the dock and come back and pick it up later. “There’s times that it would take us up to 20, 24 hours to get across just with the amount of people that’s there,” Howlett said. “There’s times we’ll come back to St. John’s and go back out. When your fuel is $2.70 a litre…it’s pretty costly.” A rate cut to Marine Atlantic ferries that took effect last year — part of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s election campaign in 2025 — further juiced demand. Howlett says now the federal government needs to make a plan for how it will catch up. “It’s like selling half-priced tickets to a sold-out concert, is what one of my friends explained it as.” “It’s like having a Blue Rodeo concert, and you’re sold out,. And you say ‘OK, you get half your ticket back,’” added Deveraux. “No, you don’t. You put on an extra Blue Rodeo concert.”
