Halifax council could explore pausing or cancelling Mill Cove Ferry

Halifax council will vote on a motion to order a report on the impact of cancelling the Mill Cove Ferry project.

As part of its ongoing budget deliberations, Halifax council could receive a report on the impact of pausing or cancelling the Mill Cove Ferry project.

Kathryn Morse, councillor for Halifax-Bedford Basin West, brought forward a motion on Wednesday requesting the chief administrative officer provide a briefing note on the implications of cancelling the proposed ferry service between Bedford and Halifax.

Council did not vote on the motion and they will return to it at their next budget meeting on Friday.

Morse said the project is estimated to move 3,000 people a day, which said isn’t a high number compared to the amount of people they could transport with more investments in bus rapid transit.

“I do want to see us invest more in transit,” Morse said in an interview with CTV News Atlantic. “I’m just not sure if this is the wisest investment we can make.

“If we spent the same amount of money, we may be able to move more people all around the city and make things work better for everyone. I’m just asking for more information to see how we can evaluate this.”

An update on the project submitted to council earlier this week said the ferry is estimated to have 908,000 passengers annually by 2030.

The project was expected to be completed by the 2027-2028 fiscal year, but the update now says it’s estimated to be done by the fourth quarter of 2030.

According to Halifax’s 2026-2027 draft capital plan, the Mill Cove Ferry project is estimated to cost $268.9 million over the next four years. Two years ago, the Nova Scotia government said it would pitch in $65 million to the project while the federal government would spend $155.7 million and Halifax would provide more than $38 million.

“We have a massive amount of money associated with this project coming from other governments,” said Jean St-Amand, councillor for Bedford-Wentworth. “I find it a little strange that we would consider giving that up without considering all the other ways it might be handled better.

“Moving to outright cancel without exploring other ways to achieve what council sought to achieve with this project, that I’m not comfortable with.”

The municipality’s website noted the Mill Cove Terminal will be net-zero and the ferries added to the fleet will be high-speed, zero-emission electric ferries.

“The Mill Cove Ferry Service is one of the key components of the recently adopted Rapid Transit Strategy,” the draft capital plan said. “This new, 11km route will provide a fast, comfortable, and sustainable form of transportation and reduce pressure on the Bedford Highway.”

-With files from CTV News Atlantic’s Jonathan MacInnis

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