ALBANY, PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND — Tolls on the Confederation Bridge linking Prince Edward Island to Canada's mainland will drop sharply starting Aug. 1, along with several other Atlantic travel fees, the prime minister said Monday.
Fulfilling a promise the Liberals made during the April election campaign, Mark Carney said the toll for an average vehicle will drop to $20 from $50.25 to cross the bridge.
"We're doing this to bring … Canadians closer together," Carney told reporters.
He made the announcement in Albany, P.E.I., with a view of the curved, 12.9- kilometre structure stretching off into the distance behind him. About one million vehicles a year drive over the crossing, which opened in 1997, connecting the Island to New Brunswick. A lease agreement with the bridge operator extends to 2032.
The government is also cutting fares in half for passengers, vehicles and commercial traffic on federally supported Eastern Canada ferry services.
Carney says the fee reductions are meant to boost interprovincial mobility — part of the government's plan to reduce internal trade barriers in response to the U.S. trade war.
He noted the cumulative annual cost of the various reductions in fares and tolls to the public treasury will be about $100 million, but predicted the changes would generate increased traffic and lower the cost of living.
Marine Atlantic, a constitutionally mandated ferry service connecting Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, will reduce traveller fares by 50 per cent and freeze commercial freight rates. The Marine Atlantic service is responsible for carrying 65 per cent of the goods that travel to and from Newfoundland.
Carney said the Eastern Ferry services and Marine Atlantic carry an average of 2,500 people and 1,200 vehicles daily.
"If we're going to build a stronger, more united economy … we're going to need to make it more affordable to travel around this country, for people and for businesses and that's what we're doing today," he said.
P.E.I. Premier Rob Lantz, who was on hand for the prime minister’s announcement, said Monday was a “great day for Prince Edward Island.”
“What’s not to like? We’ve been pushing for this forever,” Lantz told reporters. “It’s been 28 years that we’ve paid outrageous tolls … and this is going to save Islanders tens of millions of dollars.”
Lantz had been pushing for no tolls at all, but said Monday he was going to “take what we got.”
“It’s a win, a big savings,” he said. “It makes life more affordable and it makes it easier for us to get goods off Prince Edward Island. That bridge acted effectively as a tariff on everything we exported and that is greatly reduced today.”
However, on the west coast, British Columbia Premier David Eby said while he realizes Carney is following through on an election promise, he questioned why the same help isn't being provided to the B.C. ferry system.
"We are going to need the federal government to have a serious look at their policy in relation to ferry users in British Columbia and ensure fair treatment for ferry users here," he said. "It's time for them to up the federal subsidy that is unchanged for almost 20 years in British Columbia, while East Coast ferry users continue to see benefits from the federal government."
Eby added that his request to Ottawa is very clear. "We need the same per capita funding, the same per person funding that any other province gets through any other announcements that (are) made across the country," he said.
Carney said the reduction to the Marine Atlantic fares for the ferry crossings to Newfoundland and Labrador are expected to bring $28 million into that province's economy and boost out-of-province tourism. The ferry service carries medical supplies, fresh fruit and home heating fuel to the island, and the lower transport costs are expected to help reduce prices.
The prime minister acknowledged during the announcement that Canadians are anxious about trade talks with U.S. president Donald Trump’s administration. “Canadians … don’t deserve the uncertainty thrust among them,” he said.
However, he said that while his officials are engaged in the "intense phase” of talks, his government remains focused on reducing internal trade barriers and improving national infrastructure.
“What we’re doing is building our country, bringing it closer together. This is one tangible example,” he said.
The visit to P.E.I. came after Carney took a tour of some of the oldest Acadian houses in New Brunswick Sunday afternoon. The prime minister visited a historic village in Bertrand, N.B., to highlight Acadian culture ahead of the Fête nationale de l’Acadie on Aug. 15.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2025.
— With files from Michael Tutton in Halifax, Wolfgang Depner in Vancouver and Hina Alam in Bertrand, N.B.
Keith Doucette, The Canadian Press
