Set on a northward side of Sydney Harbour, along the eastern coast of Cape Breton Island, North Sydney is an crucial port inside Atlantic Canada when these are a american terminus of the Marine Atlantic ferry service, which acts as a marine hyperlink for the Trans-Canada Highway to the island of Newfoundland.

Marine Atlantic ferries presently work from either N Sydney's terminal to the ports of Port aux Basques and Argentia. A company is one of a big employers in the area.