Transport and Internal Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland sent a scathing letter on the subject to her B.C. counterpart
Federal Transport and Internal Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland said she does not want any federal money to be used for the four BC Ferries contracted to be built in China, in a letter to B.C. Transportation and Transit Minister Mike Farnworth.
“It is with great consternation and disappointment that I learned of BC Ferries’ recent announcement that it has selected China Merchants Industry Weihai Shipyards (CMI Weihai) to build four new major vessels,” Freeland said in the letter.
The June 16 letter was provided by Premier David Eby’s office to Black Press Media on Friday afternoon upon request.
An emailed statement from B.C.’s Transportation and Transit Ministry said that the letter is being reviewed and Farnworth has spoken to Freeland about the need to bolster B.C.’s shipbuilding sector.
Eby told reporters on Tuesday (June 17) that the ferry deal is the result of a five-year procurement process, no Canadian companies bid on the contract, and it would have cost at least $1 billion more to build the ships elsewhere.
Freeland lays out the reasons for her concerns with providing the contract to a Chinese bidder, which include tariffs on Canadian agricultural products, the need to support Canadian shipbuilding and cybersecurity threats from the Chinese government.
She suggests the Crown corporation should be obliged to buy Canadian.
“I am surprised that BC Ferries does not appear to have been mandated to require an appropriate level of Canadian content in the procurement or the involvement of the Canadian marine industry,” she said.
Freeland points out all of the federal financial support given to BC Ferries, including $37.8 million for the 2025-26 fiscal year and $308 million to cover financial losses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I am dismayed that BC Ferries would select a Chinese state-owned shipyard to build new ferries in the current geopolitical context, and I ask that you verify and confirm with utmost certainty that no federal funding will be diverted to support the acquisition of these new ferries,” she said.
