Hundreds of people protested outside of the New Brunswick legislature on Wednesday to bring back the Gagetown Ferry.

After the loss of the ferry, residents of the Gagetown area say they’re not taking ‘no’ for an answer. The New Brunswick government refused to reinstate the community’s ferry service earlier this year.

The government announced the cut in February’s provincial budget, not long after the ferry underwent more than $100,000 in repairs. Government says the ferry would have had to be replaced, at a cost of $5 million.

Six years ago, the ferry service was also shut down by Shawn Graham’s Liberal government. At the time, area residents protested at the New Brunswick legislature to get their ferry back – and they did.

Now that the service has been cut once again, about 300 residents returned to the legislature Wednesday to protest and demand that the ferry be brought back, as it was in 2010.

"It's quite funny because I thought I'd never be in a protest,” said business owner Debra Little. “But here I am protesting today because as far as I'm concerned, rural lives matter."

When it was operating, the Gagetown Ferry served more than 50,000 people. Residents say the service isn’t just about transportation, but is integral for their community’s tourism industry.

“The ferry itself is a tourist attraction,” said resident Wilf Hiscock. “People drive around just to do that ferry - the motorcycle clubs, the bicycle clubs, the antique car clubs, the churches, they all use that ferry because it is a pleasant thing to do.”

Those working in the agriculture industry will also be taking a hit with the lack of ferry service.

“We were shocked when we heard that the ferry was being cut,” said Hugh Harmon, who operates a beef farm in the area.

Thane Mallory just opened a restaurant in Gagetown last fall, thinking the ferry would be there. He says he'll be losing some business this summer without it.

"Now all of a sudden the government has decided to close off the ferry and that's basically saying 150,000 people, during the season, please don't come to Gagetown," said Mallory.

Without the ferry, farmers like Harmon are no longer able to transport their equipment back across the ferry – something they can’t do on the highway.

“I have to go up to the four-lane and my equipment will all have to be trucked,” said Harmon. “My hay will have to be trucked. My cattle will have to be trucked. This is a great expense.”

The distance across the river is less than a kilometer and the ferry ride was only five minutes. Now residents say getting from one side to the other is much more complicated and time-consuming, but Finance Minister Roger Melanson says it’s still manageable.

“It’s not an ideal situation, but it is only 15 kilometres from one side to the other side of the river,” said Melanson. "We believe because there's an alternate route, we've made the right decision."

Gagetown residents say they are only asking for service six months of the year, as opposed to the usual year-round service.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Mike Cameron and Laura Brown