Sunday June 29, 2025 | VICTORIA, BC [Posted at 2:21 pm]
Political analysis by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Ferries on coasts east and west receive different types of federal funding.
In both cases, the Marine Atlantic and BC Ferries systems (i.e. east and west) are part of the transportation network for the province(s) that are served.
The ferry service is not just for passengers and tourists but also provide essential economic support by carrying commercial trucks that are the backbone of supply chains for coastal regions and the mainland.
Business differences:
Yes, the business structures are different, i.e. on the east coast the ferries are owned by the federal government while on the west coast the ferry service is provided by the privately-owned BC Ferry Corporation.| See: East-west differences in federal funding for ferries
In that context, it’s understandable that the federal government doesn’t want (in the case of BC Ferries) to hand over funds to a privately-owned company.
- On the east coast: For the Atlantic provinces, the federal government provides the federal Crown corporation Marine Atlantic more than $128 million annually in federal funding for operations, covering about 43% of its operating costs. All capital costs are covered by the federal government.
- On the west coast: Currently federal coastal ferry funding for BC Ferries is about $36 million annually — about 3% of BC Ferries’ annual operating and financing expenses. Only some project-specific capital requests are covered by the federal government.
BC Premier may well push this envelope:
BC Premier David Eby has remarked on the ferry funding situation a few times, and it seems like the ‘ask’ to the federal government may continue.
Eby must know what a long-shot it is to expect more substantive operational and capital federal funding for coastal ferries in BC (given the business structure and now broader economic pressures for the country.
But perhaps the hope lies in proving that ferries on the BC coast are important for the national economy — or at least regionally as BC pursues its goal as the ‘economic engine of Canada’, as Eby has called this province several times in recent months during trade diversification and ‘one strong Canada’ momentum.
“It’s hard for us when each ferry user on the east coast gets $300 in federal funding and each ferry user in British Columbia gets $1 in federal funding,” on Friday afternoon in Vancouver, Eby said during a media availability.
“The federal government paid for a ferry that was built with the exact same yard (that the government paid for) and for us it was a loan. So I don’t think we’re seeing any particularly special favours here,” said Premier Eby.
“I would encourage and welcome a federal partnership on ferries like they have out east. For me, the conversation going forward with the feds is how do we make sure that Canadian shipyards are further supported to be able to deliver on the civilian contracts as well as military ones. I think there’s a lot of work we can do together and I would welcome that,” said Eby.
Historical challenge:
The fact that BC Ferries is a private corporation seems to make it very difficult to bring political pressure to bear on the decision-making of the transportation provider.
The issue of BC Ferries privatization (going back to the BC Liberal years under then Premier Gordon Campbell) has significantly weakened the provincial government’s influence on how coastal ferry services are funded and operated. It’s much more difficult for the government to influence fares and rates and to ameliorate that impact for BC residents that rely on the that services.
When the NDP was still in opposition, then NDP Leader John Horgan briefly remarked at an AVICC convention on perhaps making BC Ferries back into a provincial crown corporation,
After the 2017 election that mission seemed to disappear; it was probably too steep a hill to climb (both politically and financially) in relation to any political benefit it might produce for the NDP in the long run.
During the recent federal election campaign, then Liberal Leader Mark Carney (re-elected as prime minister on April 28, 2025) told media he would look at the issue of disparity between east and west coastal ferry funding.
Carney had visited Victoria three times during the 35-day campaign’ Liberal candidate Will Greaves won the Victoria riding; Greaves is now emerging on the Victoria political scene.
Looking to next four ships:
Eby says he is not prepared to impose a delay (of years) or see the province bear the cost (of at least one billion dollars) to see the recently-announced fixed-price contract to CMI revisited with other options.
Rather, he said mid-June that he will focus on BC encouraging or working with the federal government to enhance shipbuilding capacity in Canada. He cited ships 4, 5, 7 and 8 (the next new major vessels needed in the BC Ferries fleet) to be build in Canada. The first of ships 1 to 4 will be in service starting 2029 and all four vessels are to be in service by summer 2031.
Eby’s top priority is to see that the services provided by BC Ferries can be improved for the benefit of ferry-dependent families, business, tourists and other travelers.
BC’s Premier defended the BC Ferries decision — something over which the government actually had little room for influence: “BC Ferries went through an extensive independent procurement process. They arrived at a decision to award this,” said Eby with a perfunctory approach about the BC Ferries announcement of June 10, 2025.
Eby has been asked by media if he has security concerns with the ferries in BC being constructed in China. He flatly said no, during an interview on Focus BC (on Global TV) earlier this month.
His political approach is a political opportunity that he plans to pursue with the Carney Liberal government.
===== RELATED:
- NEWS SECTIONS: BC FERRIES | VANCOUVER ISLAND
- Liberal MP Will Greaves emerges in Victoria political scene (June 27, 2025)
- Time for a ‘sick bay’ on BC Ferries major vessels? (June 25, 2025)
- Premier Eby to seek federal collaboration for greater Canadian shipbuilding capacity (June 17, 2025)
- East-west difference in federal funding to coastal ferries (June 17, 2025)
- Vancouver Island MP asks about BC Ferries contract in House of Commons (June 11, 2025)
- BC Ferries four new major vessels to be constructed in China (June 10, 2025)
- Vancouver-Victoria ferry delays on Mother’s Day (May 11, 2025)