e-7474 (Transportation)

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• Current federal ferry funding agreements rely on outdated constitutional arrangements and formulas created decades ago, when Vancouver Island had roughly half its current population;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.