Wolfe Island, Ont., residents are calling on the province’s Ministry of Transportation (MTO) for solutions after a brand-new ferry was taken out of service just over a year after its maiden voyage.
With a population of 1,400, Wolfe Island is the largest of the area’s Thousand Islands. The free-of-charge, 20-minute ferry that travels across the St. Lawrence River between Wolfe Island and Kingston is the only transportation residents have to the mainland.
Most residents rely on the ferry to get to work, to have food delivered, and to transport essential services such as septic system engineers (the island doesn’t have a sewer system) and paramedics during emergencies. But the MTO, which owns and operates the ferry, has struggled to deliver convenient service.
“It’s unfortunate, because in their own study in 1994 it indicated we needed to have an 80-car ferry by 2000. This is 2025. And their 2011 study indicated we needed to have dual ferry service,” says Frontenac Islands Mayor Judy Greenwood-Speers.
The current ferry, the Wolfe Islander III, is almost 50 years old and can carry approximately 55 cars and 294 passengers. In 2018, the MTO announced that it would be spending $94 million to purchase two new ferries. One to replace the Wolfe Islander III and one to replace the ferry that services Amherst Island. Both ferries were to be electric, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 7.4 million kilograms of carbon dioxide per year. The Wolfe Islander IV, as the new ferry is called, was expected to begin service in early 2021.
To build the ferries, the MTO awarded the contract to the Damen Shipyards in Galati, Romania. The Wolfe Islander IV, which can carry approximately 400 passengers and 80 vehicles, was delivered to Ontario waters in 2021. But due to some undisclosed concerns, the MTO held off on starting service until the summer of 2023.
Now, just over a year after its maiden voyage, the Wolfe Islander IV has been sidelined. On December 4, 2024, the Wolfe Islander IV sustained minor damage to its hull when it encountered an obstruction enroute to Kingston from Wolfe Island’s Marysville. The ferry has since been transported to dry docks in Hamilton for repairs.
Nearly four months later, the MTO has yet to release information on what caused the damage, how expensive the repairs are, or when the ferry will be back in service. “Work to repair the Wolfe Islander IV is a priority for the ministry and will be completed as quickly as possible. The ministry will provide an update on the Wolfe Islander IV’s return when more information is available. We thank everyone for their patience and understanding,” a spokesperson for the MTO said in an email.
The Wolfe Islander III has been brought out of retirement to once again service the route, performing a 60-minute round-trip schedule, with departures on the hour from Kingston and on the half-hour from Wolfe Island.
But already, the Wolfe Islander III has been brought in several times for maintenance, meaning ferry service is suspended for an entire morning. On both March 26 and April 2, ferry service was suspended between Wolfe Island and Kingston from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. for maintenance.
“The Frontenac II is tied up at Amherst Island not being used,” says Greenwood-Speers. “In my view, the Frontenac II should have been brought into service while the Wolfe Islander III was getting maintenance. Both crews are pretty well qualified, because we share crews back and forth.”
The MTO has also changed where the Wolfe Islander III docks on Wolfe Island. Previously, the ferry docked at Marysville, the island’s main town, but now it drops passengers off at Dawson’s Point, a temporary winter dock approximately three and a half kilometres from the town.
“The ministry hasn’t provided us with a shuttle to Dawson’s Point, so people that are usually walk-on passengers have had to fend for themselves in finding a way to and from the boat,” says Greenwood-Speers.
The ramp on the Marysville dock was damaged after a collision with the ferry in late 2024. The MTO has since closed the dock, telling Greenwood-Speers that there’s an intermittent issue with the ramp. She says they’ve had four months to work on it and there’s still no update on when the dock will be reopened.
“From the Wolfe Island residents’ perspective, what we’ve always wanted is a reliable commuting boat,”says Greenwood-Speers. “The ferry route is like our road. It’s our sidewalk.”
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