The trucking industry is warning that New Brunswick’s plan to install a toll booth at the Nova Scotia border will raise supply chain costs, create new trade barriers, and ultimately drive up prices for consumers across Atlantic Canada.

“It’s not good for the industry, it’s not good for the consumer, and it’s not good for reducing trade barriers in our region,” Chris McKee, Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association’s (APTA) executive director, told trucknews.com.

In its budget tabled March 17, the provincial government said it plans to generate additional revenue by installing a toll booth near the Aulac district of Tantramar, with implementation targeted for 2028. The revenue is to be directed specifically toward road and bridge maintenance.

Only vehicles not registered in New Brunswick would be required to pay the toll.

“Investing in New Brunswickers means making difficult decisions,” Finance and Treasury Board Minister René Legacy said in a news release. “We are committed to managing public finances responsibly so we can keep investing in the services people rely on today and for years to come.”

For the trucking sector, however, the proposal raises broader concerns about policy direction and its impact on regional trade.

Plan runs counter to efforts to reduce costs

McKee said the plan runs counter to efforts across Atlantic Canada to reduce transportation costs and improve the flow of goods within the region. Governments and agencies have taken steps in recent years to lower or eliminate tolls and fees tied to key transportation links.

Those measures include the removal of tolls on Halifax Harbor Bridges, significant reductions to tolls on the Confederation Bridge, reduced rates for Northumberland Ferries, and commercial rate freezes on Marine Atlantic ferry services.

Against that backdrop, McKee said introducing a new toll on a critical highway corridor represents a shift in the wrong direction.

He said there is an important distinction between tolls used to fund new infrastructure projects and those applied to existing routes. In jurisdictions such as Nova Scotia and on the Confederation Bridge, tolls were introduced as part of financing arrangements tied to construction and long-term maintenance.

Operating on thin margins

In contrast, he said the New Brunswick proposal would place a toll on an established highway corridor that does not offer a practical alternate route for truck traffic, effectively making it unavoidable for carriers moving goods between provinces.

That distinction is significant for an industry that operates on thin margins and depends on efficient, uninterrupted movement of freight.

McKee said any additional operating costs imposed on carriers are typically passed along through freight rates or surcharges, meaning the impact extends beyond trucking companies to shippers and, ultimately, consumers.

2,500 commercial vehicles per day

The Aulac corridor is an important trade gateway in Atlantic Canada, linking New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and serving as a key route for goods moving throughout the region and to Newfoundland and Labrador.

Based on provincial traffic counts, McKee said approximately 2,500 commercial vehicles travel that stretch of highway each day, or roughly 915,000 annually. Those trucks move an estimated $35 billion in goods across Atlantic Canada each year.

While not all of those vehicles would necessarily be subject to the toll due to the exemption for New Brunswick-plated vehicles, he said the figures illustrate the scale of freight activity that could be affected.

Provinces are a single economic unit

McKee said the region’s relatively small size means its provinces function as a single economic unit when it comes to supply chains, making added costs or barriers at key corridors particularly significant.

He also rejected comparisons to tolling in other jurisdictions as justification for the measure, arguing that introducing similar policies does not address their known drawbacks.

“Two wrongs don’t make a right,” he said, adding that applying tolls to existing highways increases costs and reduces efficiency across the supply chain.

The timing of the proposal is also a concern for the industry, he said, as governments at both the provincial and federal levels have emphasized the importance of strengthening internal trade and improving economic resilience.

APTA seeking clarity

With ongoing uncertainty in U.S. trade relationships, McKee said efforts have focused on reducing interprovincial barriers and supporting domestic supply chains. Introducing a new toll, he said, runs counter to those objectives.

“It doesn’t matter where the money goes,” he said. “If you’re targeting these trucks or these vehicles, it’s still taxing trade.”

The APTA will seek further clarity from the provincial government on the toll’s design, rate structure, and how revenues will be allocated.

McKee said the group is also calling for meaningful consultation with industry stakeholders before the plan moves forward, warning that the proposal could set a precedent for similar measures elsewhere.