Cape Tormentine, New Brunswick
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Cape Tormentine is the name for a cape which extends into the Northumberland Strait in southeastern New Brunswick, forming the easternmost point in the province.
It is also the location of an unincorporated predominantly fishing community with the same name.
[edit] Importance in transportation
On September 9, 1886, the New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island Railway reached Cape Tormentine, connecting the hamlet with the new junction point of Sackville on the Intercolonial Railway's Truro-Moncton mainline.
The NB&PEIR created a boom in the community as from 1886 to 1917, Cape Tormentine became the primary destination for the winter iceboat service from Prince Edward Island.
On August 1, 1914 the NB&PEIR was merged into the Canadian Government Railways system and the line was extended further east into a new port facility built for the railcar and passenger ferry SS Prince Edward Island, which began service between Cape Tormentine and Port Borden, Prince Edward Island in 1917.
Following CGR's merger into the Canadian National Railways in 1918, CNR operated the ferry service from Tormentine-Borden until 1977 when a corporate reorganization saw its operation placed under a subsidiary, CN Marine. On December 31, 1989, Cape Tormentine witnessed the last train arriving from Prince Edward Island, following CN's abandonment of that province's railway service (see Prince Edward Island Railway); this also marked the date of the last train in Cape Tormentine.
A further reorganization of CN Marine in 1986 saw the company renamed Marine Atlantic, which operated the ferry service until the opening of the Confederation Bridge on May 31, 1997. Following the opening of the bridge between Borden and Cape Jourimain, several kilomtres northwest of the community, Cape Tormentine has continuously retracted as people move away for employment and property values decline. It is now largely a summer cottage destination with several dozen year-round residents who largely depend on the fishing industry.
