THE FERRIES FROM THE U.S. to Yarmouth were once the lifeblood of southwestern Nova Scotia. There was a time, in the summer months, when there were two ferries. You could travel overnight from Portland, Me., sleeping in a cabin or, if it suited you better, gamble all night in the on-board casino. The Portland service was cancelled in 2002. But there was still the other ferry, the one from Bar Harbour, Me., which later extended its service to include Portland.

The Bar Harbour ferry depended on a subsidy from Nova Scotia. Darrell Dexter’s NDP government – brought down by a Liberal landslide in October – stopped the $9-million subsidy at the end of 2009; the remaining ferry was no more.

With both ferries gone, no longer was there a line of cars, RVs and motorcycles heading northeast up Highway 103, carrying American tourists with money to spend at Nova Scotia’s B&Bs, restaurants, campsites, gas stations and craft shops. Yarmouth’s main street was deserted; Shelburne struggled; Liverpool was in dire straits.

The province came under severe criticism for removing the ferry subsidy. It was madness, said many who lived in the region. But the problem, others said, was not ferries. American tourism to Nova Scotia had been dwindling for a decade. The Canadian dollar had appreciated substantially; gas prices were high; there was confusion over U.S. passport requirements; increased security measures at the border were very unpopular; the U.S. economy was not as strong as it once was; global tourism had become intensely competitive. These were the reasons why passenger numbers had declined dramatically and the ferries were no longer viable. A government subsidy wouldn’t change anything. Dexter had been right to pull out.

A government-appointed independent panel looked at the issue and reported in August 2012. Its careful, detailed report was equivocal: “[A] cruise ferry service between Yarmouth and Portland could eventually be profitable but the undertaking would be risky.” The province would have to provide $30 million-$35 million for startup costs and initial operating support. The panel recognized that a ferry would provide some “ancillary public benefit,” but cautioned, “The impact on jobs and income in Nova Scotia, and in the Yarmouth & Acadian Shores area specifically, would be relatively modest….”

There was a public-policy quandary. Maybe it was correct to cancel the ferry subsidy. More profound problems needed to be addressed. But morale in the southwest was low. A provincial election was looming. Something had to be done, and fast. On Sept. 5, the Dexter government announced a May 2014 start for a new Portland-Yarmouth cruise ferry service. The province offered STM Quest, the chosen operator, $21 million in forgivable loans over seven years. (The new Liberal government of Stephen McNeil has given no indication it will reverse this decision.)

Old-timers will be pleased to know that the $165-million ship, called the Nova Star, will have a casino. There will be lots of time to join the government in losing money: the voyage will take nine hours.

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