A shadow of what used to be
Cape Tormentine still struggling 20 years after Confederation Bridge
The roads, houses and the vast expanse of sandy beach may still look the same; but 20 years after the construction of the Confederation Bridge, the tiny community of Cape Tormentine, N.B. is but a shadow of its former self.
“What it did, was it killed Cape Tormentine. At the time there was a lot of money promised to help the community and it pretty much went elsewhere. We did get some money later on, about $450,000, to help build a campground here, but it didn’t create any jobs for (former) Marine Atlantic workers.
“We sure didn’t get anything like they got in P.E.I.,” life-long resident and former Marine Atlantic employee Clifford Smallwood said recently. The Cape Tormentine/Borden, P.E.I. ferry service operated in the Northumberland Strait from 1917 until the opening of the Confederation Bridge in 1997. Initially operated by Canadian National Railways – later CN Marine, the service finally became the responsibility of Crown corporation Marine Atlantic. Smallwood’s grandfather, William, originally came to the community in the dying days of the First World War to work as a security guard on the new ferry service.
In the years to come, his son, Ernest, would follow in his footsteps, as did the third generation Smallwood, when Clifford joined the ferry service work force in the mid-1960s. “Marine Atlantic provided a good, solid living for a lot of people for many years; and not just people in Cape Tormentine. People came from all over the region to work here,” he said.
Located on the site of the former Marine Atlantic ferry compound, the Cape Tormentine Beach Campground is owned and operated by the Cape Tormentine Development Committee.
This non-profit organization, comprised by a number of local community members, was formed in the late 1990s to foster growth and expansion of the region.
Main Street in Cape Tormentine.
Cape Tormentine gift shop in 1994.
One of several founding members, Carolyn Allen recalls what it was like after the ferry service was discontinued.
“The last day that the ferries ran, it was a sad day for all; there were a lot of tears shed. All of a sudden the community was a ghost town. “There were no cars going through to the ferry; people lost their jobs and many had to move away to find work. Businesses closed. This community isn’t in the path to P.E.I. anymore - no one wants to come to Cape Tormentine these days, we’re out of the way,” she said.
But Allen believes there is still a lot of potential for the community to grow and prosper.
“The campground is here and it’s been successful, but I believe it’s time to use that as a catalyst to do other things, invest in other business opportunities.
“We haven’t ever had a lot of government support so it’s up to the people to get things moving. I believe that if you build something that people want – and do it right –people will come,” she said. Allen stressed that Cape Tormentine has beautiful beaches, a lot of good people and despite the hardships, a strong sense of community.
“This is a good location for warehouses stocking goods going between all four Atlantic Provinces.
“The ferry docks could be upgraded and used to ship commercial goods to Newfoundland; that would save countless trucking miles – and roads - in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. And what about a marina here; pleasure boats could sail the triangle in the Northumberland Strait from marinas in Shediac, N.B; Summerside and Charlottetown, P.E.I.; and Pictou, Nova Scotia. There is a lot of potential here,” she said. Smallwood added that allowing ATV operators access to the local Trans Canada trail system could also open up many business initiatives within the region, including Cape Tormentine.
“It seems that because our community is at the bottom end of the province, we’re forgotten. But really, the edge of the water is where the world begins, not where it ends. We all need to remember that.”