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Prime Minister Mark Carney says he is not a fan of the Holt government’s plan to install a highway toll at the New Brunswick-Nova Scotia border.
At a press conference in Ottawa on Thursday, Carney said he was “not happy” with the province’s intention to implement a toll.
“We’ll continue to discuss [this] with them,” said Carney, adding the federal government is trying to reduce internal trade barriers.
Premier Susan Holt did not directly respond to the prime minister’s comments, but she said the proposed tolls are something that’s accepted in many other provinces.
“New Brunswickers know what it feels like to pay tolls in Nova Scotia and in P.E.I.,” said Holt, speaking to reporters in Saint John.
“We see what we have to pay in P.E.I., what we have to pay in Nova Scotia and we look at the infrastructure deficit that we’re facing and we think that the people who use our roads should contribute towards their maintenance and development.”
New Brunswickers have to pay a toll of $4 each way to use the Cobequid Pass in Nova Scotia and $20 to use the Confederation Bridge leaving Prince Edward Island.
Budget measure
The tolls were announced as part of the province’s 2026-27 budget in March.
They will be paid by all non-New Brunswick travellers leaving Nova Scotia via the Trans-Canada Highway at Aulac.
The tolls are scheduled to be in place by 2028 after the infrastructure needed to collect the tolls is built.
Finance Minister René Legacy said the tolls would be expected to bring the province $10.4 million a year, which would be allocated to road and bridge maintenance.
Toll trouble
Carney isn’t alone in his disappointment with the plan.
Megan Mitton, the Green Party MLA for the riding that includes Aulac, said it’s “significant” that Carney came out strongly against the toll.
“He’s not the only one. We’ve seen local mayors, local businesses, the premiers of the other Maritime provinces and the Atlantic Chamber of Commerce all speak out against it, concerned with what it will mean in terms of impact on the economy,” said Mitton.
Glen Savoie, the interim leader of the Progressive Conservatives, said he’s not surprised the prime minister has expressed his displeasure with Holt’s decision
“What I think New Brunswickers should be concerned with is that they have a Liberal premier who at every opportunity touts about how wonderful her relationship is with the Liberal federal government, yet we have the prime minister who is openly growling against the actions of of this premier,” said Savoie.
“My next question beyond that is when do we see the [prime minister] unleash Dominic LeBlanc on Susan Holt to get her in line?”
