Clinton Myers, who hails from Montague, operates A&S Scrap Metal in Charlottetown and has been running a trucking business for 24 years, said his business which ships mainly to Halifax is having a busy year.
Myers said for his business, the Confederation Bridge and the ferry from Wood Islands to Caribou, NS toll being cut has been huge. Last year the federal government brought the bridge toll from $50 to $20 and cut the $86 ferry toll in half.
“That has really helped us. We send five to six trucks every day to Halifax. So, you can do the math on that,” he said.
His trucks had not been using the ferry due to constant maintenance issues and unreliable schedules, but having the option of taking the ferry helps cut down on gas and maintenance costs, he said.
However business is affected by the rise in gas prices.
“It is definitely impacting us. It means we have to adjust it through some other ways. We have to save money in other places,” he added.
It is a different story for long-haul trucking.
One of the major factors affecting long-haul trucking is immigration. He said there are a lot of foreign drivers applying for the positions.
The federal government’s decision to tighten the immigration process in recent years has affected the industry.
“It’s harder to get a LMIA (labour market impact assessment). We’ve recently lost four drivers because they could not renew their work permit,” he added.
It would be really helpful for the trucking industry if the immigration process was made easier, he said.
Along with that, for long haul trucking, US tariffs on shipments are becoming a huge concern among businesses.
“It’s hard to predict. It basically depends on what (Donald Trump) decides to say,” he added.
By Pratik Bhattarai, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Original Published on Sep 02, 2026 at 11:13
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