Courtenay–Alberni MP Gord Johns is raising the alarm about impending ferry fare increases in rallies across Vancouver Island starting Monday, calling for the federal government to provide the same level of funding for B.C. Ferries as it does Atlantic Canada ferries.
The federal government covers 43 per cent of ferry costs on the East Coast and just three per cent in B.C., said the NDP MP, who raised the issue in the House in May.
Courtenay–Alberni MP Gord Johns is sounding the alarm over the possibility of major B.C. Ferries fare increases, and he’s taking that message across Vancouver Island.
According to Gord Johns, MP for Courtenay-Alberni, who is leading the charge to even things up, the feds provide $291 per passenger in Atlantic Canada and just $1.63 per passenger in B.C. No, I did not forget a period in the Atlantic Canada amount.
In terms of total population rather than just ferry riders, that’s $6 per person in B.C. and $125 per person in Atlantic Canada. The federal government is covering 43 per cent of operating costs for the east coast ferry system and just three per cent for BC Ferries.
North Cowichan’s mayor is the latest municipal leader to support a campaign led by a Vancouver Island MP calling for fair and stable federal operational funding for BC Ferries.
Rob Douglas said he wrote to Housing and Infrastructure Minister Gregor Robertson to express council’s support for Courtenay-Alberni MP Gord Johns’ Fair Federal Ferry Funding campaign.
Parksville council has endorsed a motion by MP Gord Johns which calls for fair federal support for BC Ferries.
Johns’ M-35 Federal Operational Support for BC Ferries calls for equal funding with East Coast interprovincial ferry systems, which received $291 in federal operational support per passenger in 2024/2025, compared to $1.63 in federal support for BC Ferries passengers.
“He’s getting bipartisan support from federal Conservative MPs on this. He’s getting a lot of traction,” said Coun. Sean Wood, who brought the motion to council on July 20.
North Cowichan Mayor Rob Douglas is calling on the federal government to provide long-term and fair funding for BC Ferries, lending his support to a motion introduced in Parliament by Courtenay-Alberni MP Gord Johns.
Douglas sent an open letter to Canada’s Minister of Housing and Infrastructure, urging Ottawa to treat BC Ferries as essential transportation infrastructure and provide funding comparable to what is offered to federally supported ferry services in Atlantic Canada.
“Our ferry system here with our coastal communities, we view it as an extension of the highway system,” Douglas said. “Gord Johns, the Member of Parliament for Courtenay-Alberni, has led this campaign. He’s brought forward a motion in the House of Commons.“
Qualicum Beach council will send a letter supporting Courtenay-Alberni MP Gord Johns’s campaign urging the federal government to provide long-term operational funding for BC Ferries comparable to ferry services in Eastern Canada.
Council unanimously approved the motion during its regular meeting on July 15, after Coun. Scott Harrison proposed the town endorse the MP’s advocacy efforts.
Johns is calling on Ottawa to modernize the 1977 federal agreement governing BC Ferries and provide stable, long-term operational funding. He argues that without additional federal support, British Columbians could face fare increases of at least 30 per cent by 2028, service reductions, or both.
“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.
A Vancouver Island MP is calling on Ottawa to provide a further subsidy to BC Ferries.
Courtenay-Alberni MP Gord Johns called on the federal government to make ferry travel more equitable across the country Wednesday.
He says it’s not fair that ferry passengers in eastern Canada are subsidized so much more than those in western Canada.
Courtenay – Alberni MP Gord Johns says there’s a huge disparity between east coast and west coast ferries.
He said BC Ferries received approximately $1.63 in federal funding per passenger, while east coast ferry systems received approximately $291 per passenger, roughly 178 times more than BC Ferries.
“We often hear about western alienation, well it’s real, and few large populations in Canada understand that feeling better than Vancouver Islanders,” he said. “This isn’t about taking away support from Atlantic Canadians – their ferry systems are essential national infrastructure – the question Vancouver Islanders are asking is why essential marine highways on the west coast aren’t treated with the same level of federal importance?”