Canada's $1.3 Billion Eastern Ferry Package Exposes West Coast Funding Gap

Canada's 2026 federal budget commits $1.3 billion over eight years to ferry services in Eastern Canada, and nothing comparable for BC Ferries — the country's largest ferry operator, which carried 23.3 million passengers and 10 million vehicles in the fiscal year ending March 2026.

The BC Ferry & Marine Workers' Union (BCFMWU) has asked Prime Minister Mark Carney to explain the disparity. The package, starting in fiscal 2026/2027, renews the Ferry Services Contribution Program and funds new terminals at Wood Islands, Prince Edward Island, and Caribou, Nova Scotia, plus chartering of temporary replacement vessels.

"The prime minister says he wants to build a stronger, more connected Canada. Apparently, that doesn't include the Pacific coast," said BCFMWU president Eric McNeely.

What does the funding gap look like?

By the union's figures, Ottawa covers roughly 43% of operating and maintenance costs for Atlantic ferry services, against about 3% for BC Ferries. British Columbia's federal ferry funding rests on a 1977 agreement, updated in 2005/2006.

Transport Canada figures show the province will receive $37.8 million in 2025/2026 to support BC Ferries, rising to $39.05 million for each of fiscal 2026/2027 through 2028/2029. An evaluation of the agreement is scheduled for 2027/2028.

"British Columbians pay federal taxes too. Why should our ferry passengers get less support than Canadians on the Atlantic coast?" McNeely said.

The Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce has also pressed Ottawa to support B.C.'s coastal network on par with Atlantic services. BC Ferries itself notes its federal infrastructure financing — including a $1-billion Canada Infrastructure Bank loan toward China-built ships — must be repaid, unlike the grants and operating funding eastern services receive.

Why does Ottawa fund the East differently?

A structural distinction drives the split. The federally supported eastern routes connect provinces and fall under federal jurisdiction. Marine Atlantic's year-round North Sydney–Port aux Basques service fulfils a constitutional obligation to link Newfoundland and Labrador with the mainland. The 13-kilometre Confederation Bridge, built in 1997 and operated by a private contractor for Ottawa, meets a similar constitutional requirement for Prince Edward Island.

BC Ferries, by contrast, sits under provincial jurisdiction. The company has been wholly provincially owned since 2003, when it converted from a Crown corporation to a private company structure.

The scrutiny intensified after the Carney government's 2025 cuts: substantially reduced Confederation Bridge tolls, halved fares on federally supported eastern ferry services, a 50% fare cut on Marine Atlantic's two Nova Scotia–Newfoundland routes, and frozen commercial freight rates.

What is at stake for fares?

In late 2024, BC Ferries warned that rising operating, labour and capital costs could translate into the equivalent of a single-year fare increase of up to 30% in 2028. That figure was a warning, not an approved change. The independent BC Ferries Commissioner is reviewing the company's fare submission for the four-year period beginning April 2028.

For the current period ending March 2028, average annual fare increases are capped at 3.2%, supported by a $500-million provincial operating contribution in 2023 that avoided 10.4% annual hikes from 2024 to 2028. Fuel costs have since risen due to the global impacts of the U.S.-led war in Iran.

The operator is also executing its largest capital expenditure ever: four Summit-class vessels, well over $1 billion, built at a Chinese state-owned shipyard for delivery from 2029 to 2031 on Metro Vancouver–Vancouver Island–Sunshine Coast routes. The contract price is undisclosed to protect competitiveness on future orders.

The union estimates BC Ferries moves about $8 billion in cargo and goods annually, and warns higher fares raise costs for dependent businesses while aging vessels and terminals drive disruption. Vancouver Island houses roughly one million people.

Who answers next?

The union is urging Premier-elect Lorne Doerkson and his incoming Conservative provincial government to press Ottawa for a larger contribution. BC Ferries adds a leadership wildcard: on Oct. 26, 2026, the board replaced CEO Nicolas Jimenez with interim leader Brian Anderson, its strategy vice-president, and launched a "Revitalization Review" of efficiency and service, with a permanent CEO search to follow.

The funding question will land on the new government's desk alongside TransLink's own fiscal cliff from 2028 — meaning ferry fares, transit finance and federal-provincial cost-sharing are set to dominate B.C.'s transportation agenda through the decade's end.