Building Ferries in B.C. Could Help Fight U.S. Tariffs, Report Says
- Building ferries in British Columbia instead of purchasing them from foreign shipyards would help the provincial and Canadian economies weather steep American tariffs, according to a report released...
- The report arrives 15 months after BC Ferries announced a contract with China Merchants Weihai Shipyards, which is owned by the Chinese government, to construct four major vessels.
- As trade restrictions from America unfold, the province needs to ensure its behavior matches its rhetoric on buying local, according to Build Them Here coalition member and ferry...
Building ferries in British Columbia instead of purchasing them from foreign shipyards would help the provincial and Canadian economies weather steep American tariffs, according to a report released on Sept. 10, 2026, by the Centre of Future Work.
The study was commissioned by a coalition of unions and industry leaders. It addresses how local manufacturing capacity can buffer trade pressures from the United States under U.S. President Donald Trump, as reported by The Canadian Press.
Background on the BC Ferries Chinese Shipyard Contract
The report arrives 15 months after BC Ferries announced a contract with China Merchants Weihai Shipyards, which is owned by the Chinese government, to construct four major vessels. The exact financial cost of the contract has not been disclosed.
At the time of the announcement, BC Ferries—which is overseen by the B.C. Ferry Authority—stated that no domestic company submitted a proposal. The operator also noted that the winning bid from China was at least $1 billion cheaper than alternative bids.
That foreign procurement decision drew significant public backlash. Jim Stanford, a labour economist and co-author of the Centre of Future Work report, stated that the government must avoid repeating that mistake.
Stanford noted that the new publication is not intended to relitigate the previous contract with China Merchants Weihai Shipyards. Instead, the document focuses on helping British Columbia capture the economic potential of its domestic shipbuilding sector through targeted investments in facilities, labour, and local procurement guarantees.
Union and Industry Response to Domestic Procurement
As trade restrictions from America unfold, the province needs to ensure its behavior matches its rhetoric on buying local, according to Build Them Here coalition member and ferry workers’ union president Eric McNeely.
If buying local matters, when I go to the grocery store, it has to matter, when BC Ferries is spending billions of dollars, including taxpayers’ dollars, on vessels.
Eric McNeely, via The Canadian Press
The coalition maintains that strengthening domestic shipbuilding infrastructure provides a vital counterweight to international trade volatility, ensuring that public infrastructure spending directly supports local jobs and manufacturing supply chains.