'Cape Tormentine' is a
Canadian rural community in
Westmorland County,
New Brunswick.
The community derives its name from a
headland of the same name which extends into the
Northumberland Strait, forming the easternmost point in the province.
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.