Under a brilliant blue sky, Kingston, Ont. resident Allison Casteels packed up her children in a minivan on a Wednesday afternoon and took the ferry across the St. Lawrence Seaway to Wolfe Island. During that 20-minute journey, Casteel saw something on the horizon that she had not seen in more than eight months. The Wolfe Islander IV (WI4) – the newer, bigger, electric-diesel hybrid ferry was back on the water. But this was only a practice run, with no cars or passengers on the boat. “It’s like whale watching. You know, it’s a rare thing.” Casteel said as she pointed out the ferry to her children. “Too bad we’re not on it.” The ferry, built by Dutch company Damen in a Romanian shipyard and purchased by the Ontario government for $47 million, was intended to replace an aging vessel that is half a century old. A ‘wussy’ ferry What was supposed to be a lifeline for the township of Frontenac Islands has turned out to be a “lemon,” says Judy Greenwood-Speers, the town’s mayor. “This thing has been tied up for fog, for wind, probably tied up for rain. But I need to have people actually get to work. Get to school. Get to have their emergencies attended to. I don’t have time for something that is so much of a wussy ferry.” Greenwood-Speers said the Wolfe Islander IV (WI4) has been plagued with problems since it was put into service two years ago. It has been tied to a dock for maintenance and repairs longer than it has actually transported people. In December 2024, the ferry ran aground after strong winds pushed it into shallower waters. It took months to repair its damaged hull. A year later on December 22, 2025, the ferry lost power during a crossing because of an electrical malfunction. What the mayor called a “meltdown” temporarily stranded the 1,500 permanent residents of Wolfe Island, including one person who had medical emergency. Greenwood-Speers said because it was winter, only the fire department in Thousand Islands had a steel boat in the water. But Thousand Islands is 50 kilometres east of Wolfe Island, and it would still take firefighters two-and-half-hours to transport the patient to a hospital in Kingston. The ferry trip usually takes 20 minutes. The WI4 has not carried passengers since last December. In an email to CTV News, the Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment says the government “is preparing for the Wolfe Islander IV’s return to service.” The MTO says charging infrastructure is being installed at the Kingston dock and that the berth is being expanded to accommodate the larger WI4 boat. Once construction is complete, provincial transportation officials say the WI4 will “operate in fully electric mode.” While the European-built vessel is being repaired, the contingency plan involves putting the aging Wolfe Island III (WI3) back into service. That ferry is 50 years old and also frequently breaks down. Then there’s the human factor. Greenwood-Speers says that a few weeks ago, the captain of the WI3 didn’t show up for work and there was no one to replace him. Just a short drive from the ferry dock, melodies played on Steinway piano drift out of multi-colored Hotel Wolfe Island. Christopher Brown purchased the hotel during the COVID-19 pandemic with the goal of bringing musicians, dancers and artists to Wolfe Island to enrich the community. This summer, he was able to book acts five days a week and hold a dance festival on the nearby pier that he developed. But the unreliability of the ferry system has increased his costs and his stress level. Halted service At the end of July, the hotel booked Bill Frisell, a pioneering jazz musician and Grammy-award winning guitarist for two sold-out shows. As Frisell and his band prepared to take the ferry from Kingston to the Island, the MTO decided unexpectedly to cancel service to in order to repair the WI3’s engine. Brown said they had to rent day rooms for Frisell’s jazz trio at a Kingston hotel while they figured out how long the delay would be. Another instance involved turning the hotel bar into an overnight shelter for dozens of island visitors after the ferry was cancelled after 7 p.m. Brown said MTO officials didn’t explain why. “We turned the night into music, and polished a turd,” said Brown, who is also a singer-songwriter and has performed with artists such as B.B. King and the Tragically Hip. The hotel owner says he’s often had to use his own boat to transport guests back to Kingston and has seen tensions rise on the docks. “We have to be very aware and considerate of how much pressure this is putting on the captains, the MTO employees, who are all members of our community as well. It’s very challenging to keep the fabric together under such pressure.” Brown, who lives on the island year-round, says he hopes the provincial government isn’t neglecting the island’s primary connection to the mainland because of its small population. “That boat is considered an extension of the highway. Like any other responsibility of the province. It needs to be functional. It needs to be maintained,” Brown said. Down the street from the hotel, Wolfe Island Bakery is in the middle of a rush of customers at 4:30 p.m. A small crowd has made their way to the bakery after the WI3 ferry reached its capacity. They will have to wait another hour before they can get across to Kingston. “The ferry can be a bit slow. So, a lot of people waiting in the lineup will come over to us. I know (residents) don’t like it – but the ferry is good for our business,” said James Chinn, as he puts scones into a box. Wolfe Island’s population can double in the summer with cottagers and tourist traffic. Why not 2 ferries? Although the newer Wolfe Islander IV is sailing again, the province hasn’t said when it will start taking passengers. The WI4 can take up to 75 vehicles, 20 more than WI3, but it runs on 80-minute intervals instead of 60. Greenwood-Speers says a provincial study acknowledged in 2011 that the region needed two ferries for reliable service – not a bigger one. She maintains that’s still the only solution that will guarantee reliability and the future of her community. During CTV News’ visit to Wolfe Island, the mayor pointed out the public elementary school that closed. She talked about the dairy farmer who had to destroy 70,000 litres of milk because there was no way to get the product across the seaway. She referenced the picturesque homes on the island that were recently put up for sale and the young families who have moved away. Greenwood-Speers spoke with sadness but also refused to accept the status quo. “If (the province) is trying to kill my community, they’re doing a fine job of it, but I’ll fight them tooth and nail.”
