Lack of update on ferry service leaves Little Tancook business owners in the dark

Advertisement 1 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Breadcrumb Trail Links HomeAtlantic CanadaNewsNova ScotiaHalifaxSouth Shore Lack of update on ferry service leaves Little Tancook business owners in the dark 'Our business can only exist if we have a reliable way to get here,' says bakery owners Author of the article: By Josh Healey Published Sep 24, 2026 Last updated 1 hour ago 3 minute read Karina Smith, and her husband Danny, bought a house on Little Tancook Island last year. They've since set up a business in Chester. But the many questions surrounding Little Tancook's ferry service is causing them and other islanders stress, potentially putting their business at stake. PHOTO BY JOSH HEALEY /The Chronicle Herald Article content Karina Smith and her family moved to Little Tancook Island, on the picturesque South Shore, looking for a quieter life.  Article content She and her husband Danny wanted to leave the hectic pace of Montreal and, having visited, knew they liked Nova Scotia. Eventually, they saw an ad for a house on Little Tancook.  Article content Article content “The island is beautiful, it’s small and peaceful. The house was in great condition and had a yard. It had stuff that big families in the city dream about,” Smith told The Chronicle Herald from their Chester bakery.  Article content Article content They bought their house last year with the understanding they’d be connected to the mainland by ferry, which currently services both Tancook Islands.  Article content But with no new wharf on the horizon for Little Tancook, not to mention a lack of communication from the provincial government, Smith and her family have concerns about the lives they’re trying to build in their new home.  Article content Starting a business on the mainland  Article content As much as Smith and her family love the Little Tancook house, they knew the move would only work with access to the mainland. Article content They have three children — 13, 11 and six — who have busy lives.  Article content Smith, too, is busy, having opened the Hidden Loaf, a bakery, with her husband in Chester. She said the bakery has been well received, and everyone is settling into their new lives.  Article content But the reality of the new car ferry, which cannot go to the Little Tancook wharf in its current condition, hangs over their lives.  Article content “It’s really up in the air,” Smith said of what will happen to…