Quebec Liberal Party proposes free ferry service

Italian-built ferry F.A. Gauthier is docked for repairs at Davie Shipyard in Levis, Que., Tuesday, July 16, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

The Quebec Liberal Party feels Quebecers should not have to pay to use the province's ferries. The party will make the service free if it is elected to power in October.

While in the Magdalen Islands on Saturday morning, Liberal leader Dominique Anglade said Quebec residents should not have to pay to use the ferries, as they would not have paid if there had been a road there.

She described the ferry service as an "essential service", hence the need to offer it free to Quebecers.

The Liberals estimate that this proposal would cost about $20 million, an amount that a Liberal government would be prepared to spend on this measure.

Some Société des traversiers du Québec (STQ) crossings are free, but most are not.

For a passenger vehicle, it costs $9.15 for a Quebec City - Lévis crossing, while prices can climb to $72.75 for longer crossings, such as Matane - Baie-Comeau - Godbout.

The PLQ's proposed free ride would apply only to Quebec residents.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 21, 2022.