By Canadian Press

Transport committee to debate whether to study BC Ferries’ Chinese ship contract

Jul 7, 2025 | 8:40 AM

OTTAWA — The House of Commons transport committee is meeting to decide whether to study BC Ferries’ decision to purchase four Chinese vessels.

BC Ferries announced last month that it hired China Merchants Industry Weihai Shipyards to build four new ships after a five-year procurement process that did not include a Canadian bid.

Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland sent her B.C. counterpart a letter on June 20 saying she is “dismayed” by the deal and expects BC Ferries to mitigate potential security risks.

She also asked the B.C. government to confirm that no federal funding will be diverted to purchase the ferries.

The Canada Infrastructure Bank contributed $1 billion to the deal and said in a June 26 statement that the new ferries “wouldn’t likely be purchased” without this financing.

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The transport committee meeting is scheduled to start at 12 p.m. EDT.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 7, 2025

David Baxter, The Canadian Press