PEI·NewWith the ferry service between Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia once again plagued by cancellations, the MP for eastern P.E.I. says the federal government is planning to dredge Wood Islands Harbour. Promise comes as Northumberland ferry disruptions continue this weekRyan McKellop · CBC News · Posted: Jun 25, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 32 minutes agoThe MV Northumberland, previously the MV Fanafjord, is a new ferry on the route between Wood Islands, P.E.I., and Caribou, N.S., this year. (Carolyn Ryan/CBC)With the ferry service between Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia once again plagued by cancellations, the MP for eastern P.E.I. says the federal government is planning to dredge Wood Islands Harbour. Northumberland Ferries Ltd. said this week that it would be operating on reduced sailings and limited vehicle capacity due to “unusually low tides.” Cardigan MP Kent MacDonald said the last time the area was dredged was in 2022.”The fishermen are experiencing the same problem in the harbours, getting in and out,” MacDonald told CBC News.”The ferry’s… putting precautionary measures in or cancelling crossings when the tide is extremely low so we don’t have any safety issues or any damage to assets that are there.”Cardigan MP Kent MacDonald says Transport Canada has pledged to dredge Wood Islands Harbour later this year. (Zoom)MacDonald said Transport Canada, which owns the ferries, is set to dredge the Wood Islands Harbour later this year.”They’re pledging to dredge again,” he said.”That process will have to be closely monitored and make sure that the ferries are able to dock and leave safely, if we’re going to continue to have extreme weather events with the tide being lower than normal.”More sediment than usualMore P.E.I. harbours have needed dredging in recent years, in part because there’s less sea ice over the winter months to keep shifting sand in check. That leads sand and silt building up, which could cause boats to run aground in the shallower waters. A spokesperson for Transport Canada confirmed in a statement to CBC News that it would dredge Wood Islands Harbour this year. “Typically, dredging at Woods Island is carried out on a 5-year cycle, and the last dredging operation was completed in 2022,” the statement reads. “This year’s assessment revealed more sediment accumulation than usual. A call for tenders is therefore underway for dredging work, which is scheduled to begin after August 1, 2025.” We have to be realistic in our expectations that sometimes everything can’t happen the way you want it to.— Kent MacDonald, Cardigan MP MacDonald said extreme weather events that prevent off-Island travel have to be expected sometimes.”When the wind is blowing the [Confederation] Bridge closes; when the tides are extremely low Transport Canada is taking the necessary precautions to ask the ferry service to cancel those crossings,” he said. “I think we have to be realistic in our expectations that sometimes everything can’t happen the way you want it to.”WATCH | NFL cancels some N.S.-P.E.I. sailings as low tide affects ferries:NFL cancels some N.S.-P.E.I. sailings as low tide affects ferriesNorthumberland Ferries has cancelled some sailings this week for what it calls “unusually low tides.” People in the area say dredging work should have been done ahead of time to welcome the new boats, but because that work hasn’t been done the ferry service is having a bumpy early summer schedule. CBC’s Cody MacKay reports.Despite the disruptions this week, MacDonald said the ferry service has been running well so far.”I think it’s been going smoothly this summer,” he said. “Spring tide season will be over at the end of this week, and things will return to normal.”The ferry route between Wood Islands, P.E.I., and Caribou, N.S., is currently serviced by two ships — the MV Confederation and the MV Northumberland.With both vessels in service, Northumberland Ferries typically runs eight scheduled crossings a day.ABOUT THE AUTHORRyan McKellop is a graduate of the Holland College Journalism program and a web writer at CBC P.E.I.With files from Gwyneth Egan
Transport Canada ‘pledging to dredge’ Wood Islands Harbour, says P.E.I. MP
