The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is applauding the Houston government for finally conducting an economic impact study on the Yarmouth ferry.

“The Yarmouth ferry has been a taxpayer boondoggle for years and taxpayers have been losing enormous amounts of cash every year,” said CTF Interim Atlantic Director Jay Goldberg. “It’s time for the Houston government to end this taxpayer money pit and an economic impact study is a good start.”

The Yarmouth ferry, which runs from Yarmouth to Portland, Maine, transported about 36,000 passengers in the 2022 summer season, including 15,000 vehicles. The government of Nova Scotia paid $17 million in subsidies last year to keep the service going. That’s a cost of about $472 per passenger.

“It’s clear that the Yarmouth ferry service is not economically viable and that taxpayer handouts should end as quickly as possible,” said Goldberg. “An economic impact study represents a good step, but it should be done quickly. Nova Scotia taxpayers can’t afford to keep paying for a ferry service that is clearly not economically viable.”