UNCOVER A VIBRANT
WORKING PORT

Dive into the heart of Digby, a bustling working port nestled along the serene Annapolis Basin. From its historic waterfront to the pulse of maritime activity, Digby offers a captivating blend of industry and natural beauty. Join us as we explore the vibrant life that defines this coastal community. 

The main wharf at Digby was developed around the transportation ties with Saint John, New Brunswick. As early as 1784, the ship Sally plied the waters of the Bay of Fundy, ferrying passengers and produce between the two ports. The transportation link evolved into a formalized Transport Canada – Marine Atlantic ferry service.

In 1971, with the arrival of the Princess of Acadia II, a new ferry terminal was built several miles out of town on Digby Gut, ending the railway to ship connection at Digby. The wharf remained a Transport Canada asset after the transition. The Port’s wharf had an extension to the concrete spur wharf and an end ell was added in 1981.



In 1998, the federal government began a program of wharf divestiture at a number of outlying ports of Atlantic Canada within Transport Canada’s portfolio. Digby was the first port to be sold when it was divested to the Maritime Harbour Society which operated the port for nine years. The Harbour Society did not have extensive experience to draw upon, and the transaction did not allow for the viability of a marine structure in a harsh environment.

The wharf deteriorated to the point there was a sunken vessel in the harbour and the structures were degraded and unsafe. In 2008, the community rallied together under the banner of the Digby Harbour Port Association (DHPA) which bought the port on behalf of the fishers and community. The wharf was in a poor state and a full engineering assessment of the property was the first piece of business. Marginal wharf repairs, including shotcrete to the easterly concrete sheet piles, and many fender replacements added considerable usability and life span to the structure.

The addition of 23 floating docks made access to boats safer and infinitely easier. As well, a new breakwater protects the wharf from deadly winter nor’easters that pounded the structure, causing tens of thousands of dollars damage annually. Electrical infrastructure and waste oil storage rounded out the key upgrades over the past 16 years.

These critical upgrades were made possible through support from Industry Canada and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), combined with provincial and municipal assistance.

Interestingly, the Port of Digby structure, known locally as the Fisherman’s Wharf, was never a DFO Small Crafts Harbours wharf, given its inception and duration solely as a Transport Canada wharf.

The Port is part of the identity of residents of southwest Nova Scotia. The DHPA is directly involved and sponsors the three festivals in Digby: Lobster Bash in July, Scallop Days in August, and the Wharf Rat Rally in early September.

The Port of Digby is critical infrastructure to the backbone of the economy, and the Port Association continues to look for every opportunity to enhance and ‘future proof’ the facility while looking for opportunities in the ocean economy.