Federal Support for BC Ferries

AI summary

Petitioners say ferries are essential marine highways linking coastal communities, and they note Vancouver Island is approaching one million residents while BC Ferries carries more than 22 million passengers annually; they cite a Library of Parliament analysis that in 2024–25 BC Ferries received about $1.63 in federal operational support per passenger versus about $291 for federally supported East Coast ferry systems. They call on the Government of Canada to modernize federal ferry funding policies and provide fair, stable, long‑term operational support for BC Ferries, arguing current funding formulas are outdated and inequitable; the petition records no government response.

AI summaries describe petitioners’ requests and claims. Consult the official record for the full text.

Official petition

Petition to the Government of Canada Ferries are essential marine highways connecting coastal communities, workers, families, businesses, and supply chains to the rest of Canada; Vancouver Island is approaching one million residents and BC Ferries carries more than 22 million passengers annually; According to analysis prepared by the Library of Parliament, BC Ferries received approximately $1.63 in federal operational support per passenger in 2024-25, compared to approximately $291 for federally supported East Coast ferry systems; Canadians in Atlantic Canada and British Columbia both deserve strong federal ferry support because these services are essential national transportation infrastructure; Current federal ferry funding agreements rely on outdated constitutional arrangements and formulas created decades ago, when Vancouver Island had roughly half its current population; Vancouver Island and coastal communities should not have to become separate provinces in order to receive fair federal ferry support; and It is no longer sustainable to operate one of the world’s largest ferry systems without stable, long-term federal operational support. We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to modernize federal ferry funding policies and provide fair, stable, long-term federal operational support for BC Ferries as essential national transportation infrastructure.

Government response

No government response is available yet.