A Vancouver Island member of Parliament is calling on the federal government to provide secure, fair, stable, long-term operational funding for BC Ferries.
Courtenay-Alberni MP Gord Johns is leading the Fair Federal Ferry Funding campaign, which includes an electronic petition that he plans to submit to the House of Commons. Johns said he hopes to gather signatures from residents of Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast.
Johns said federal operational support for BC Ferries is significantly lower than funding provided to ferry services in Atlantic Canada. He has previously raised the issue in the House of Commons.
“According to an analysis by the Library of Parliament, BC Ferries received approximately a-dollar-sixty-three in federal operational support per passenger in 2024-25, compared to that of 291-dollars for federally supported east coast ferry systems,” Johns said in the House of Commons in May.
Johns said BC Ferries has warned that without additional government funding, ferry users could face fare increases of at least 30 per cent by 2028.
He said ferries are not a luxury for coastal communities but marine highways that connect people to work, school, medical care, family, goods and essential services.
More information about the petition is available here.
– Article includes files from the office of Courtenay-Alberni MP Gord Johns
