We pay the same federal taxes. Why don’t we get fair ferry funding? 

Sign Parliamentary Petition e-7474

British Columbians pay the same federal taxes as people in Atlantic Canada. We help fund national transportation infrastructure from coast to coast. But when it comes to ferries, coastal communities in B.C. are being treated very differently. 

For Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, the Sunshine Coast, the North Coast and other coastal communities, ferries aren’t a luxury. They are marine highways. 

They connect people to work, school, medical appointments, family, small businesses, tourism, goods and essential services. When fares go up, the cost of living goes up. When service is reduced or unreliable, communities can be cut off. 

Gord Johns is leading the effort in Parliament to secure fair, stable, long-term federal operational support for BC Ferries. Without action, British Columbians could face significant fare increases, service reductions, or both.

You can help by signing E-Petition e-7474, which Gord will table in the House of Commons. Your support will help demonstrate the need for fair federal ferry funding for coastal British Columbia.

BC Ferries has warned that, without additional government funding, ferry users could face fare increases of at least 30 per cent by 2028. 

The upcoming BC Ferries Performance Term 7 review process will help determine fares, service levels and funding requirements for the next five years. 

The decisions being made over the coming months could affect ferry affordability, service levels and the cost of living in coastal communities for years to come. 

The time to act is now!

Sign Parliamentary Petition e-7474

Read Motion M-35

Write to federal leaders and ministers  

Here's what you should know about ferry funding

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BC Ferries carries more than 22 million passengers annually and is one of the largest ferry systems in the world. However, last year, it only received $37.8 million in support from the federal government. Meanwhile, Marine Atlantic, the federally-supported ferry service between Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia with a ridership of about 360,000 passengers, received $182.5 million in government funding.

Ferry users pay approximately 70 per cent of BC Ferries’ costs through fares and fees, while the Province of British Columbia contributes approximately 24 per cent and the federal government contributes about 3 per cent.

This campaign is not about taking anything away from Atlantic Canada. Maritimers deserve strong federal support for their ferries. Their coastal communities rely on those services too. This is about fairness.

For too long, Ottawa has relied on outdated agreements and technical distinctions to justify this imbalance. Marine Atlantic is a federal Crown corporation, while BC Ferries is provincially administered. Some east coast routes are tied to older constitutional or interprovincial commitments.

But none of this changes the reality for people in B.C. who are paying hundreds of dollars to get to the mainland, attend medical appointments, visit family, keep small businesses moving, or receive essential goods and services.

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As Gord says

“Vancouver Island and the B.C. coast shouldn’t have to become a province of their own to get fair ferry funding.”

Vancouver Island has changed. The funding formula hasn’t.

Federal ferry funding arrangements were developed decades ago, when Vancouver Island had a much smaller population and different transportation needs.

Today, Vancouver Island is home to more than one million people. Its population is larger than New Brunswick’s, larger than the combined populations of Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador, and approaching the population of Nova Scotia.

The population has changed. The economy has changed. The transportation needs have changed. The federal funding formula hasn’t.

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What the BC government is saying

• "We're going to need the federal government to have a serious look at their policy in relation to ferry users in British Columbia and ensure fair treatment for ferry users here." (CBC News, July 2025)
• "I would encourage the federal (transportation) committee to have a look at the differential treatment of the coasts in terms of ferry support. And I think going forward, there is a huge opportunity for us to work with the federal government to ensure that our shipbuilding industry has the opportunity to build these ferries right here in Canada." (CBC News, July 2025)

• “The fact that the federal government paid for an entire ferry built at the same (Chinese) shipyard for Eastern Canada, and that it is somehow a problem that BC Ferries users get access to a low-interest loan, is bizarre,” he said. “It is a situation where B.C. ferry users get, on average, $1 in federal subsidy, while eastern ferry users get $300 in federal subsidies. And so as a result, that disparity and that unfairness needs to be addressed.” (CTV News, September 2025)

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Ferry funding Myth-Busting 

How Gord is fighting for you 

Gord Johns has repeatedly raised ferry funding fairness in Parliament and is pressing the federal government to recognize BC Ferries as essential national transportation infrastructure, by: 

• Introducing Motion M-35 calling for fair, stable, long-term federal operational support for BC Ferries, on June 5, 2026;
• Sponsoring Parliamentary E-Petition e-7474;
• Meeting with Minister Gregor Robertson to press for federal action;
• Raising the issue in the House of Commons;
• Challenging the federal government on ferry funding inequities; and,
• Working with local governments, chambers of commerce, labour organizations and community leaders to build support for change.

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British Columbians pay the same federal taxes. 

The time to act is now.