The subsidy for the Yarmouth-Maine Ferry is projected to be $16.3 million this year, according to documents presented as part of the Nova Scotia Budget on Tuesday.
That will make it the highest single-year subsidy for the service since it was reintroduced in 2016.
The ferry service, operated by Bay Ferries Ltd., and known as the CAT, has been described as a boon for tourism and the economy of rural Nova Scotia.
But the service has received its share of criticism and the Nova Scotia government has yet to conduct an economic impact assessment that would provide details on what effects, if any, the service has had in rural Nova Scotia.
The CAT is heavily subsidized by the province through what it calls an operating grant. The grant is a key part of the 10-year deal inked between Bay Ferries Ltd., and the provincial government in 2016.
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