Business in Vancouver, August 31, 2026
Author: Rob Shaw
The province can turn a political promise into jobs, industrial capacity and a stronger shipbuilding sector.
More than a year after promising to build BC Ferries’ next fleet of vessels in B.C. instead of China, a coalition of shipbuilding unions and organizations is calling on Premier David Eby to follow through on his pledge and actually do something to make it happen.
Fifteen unions, representing the bulk of marine shipbuilding trades, as well as a shipyard and BC Ferries’ workers, will launch the “Build Them Here” campaign today in Vancouver.
They say the goal is to push the Eby government, as well as executives at the taxpayer-owned BC Ferry Corp., to lay down clear markers for when the next round of ships need to be built, and what buy-Canadian criteria will be used in bidding, to give the entire sector time to develop the capacity, a plan and the workforce to construct the vessels locally.
“If we are going to bring ferry construction back to B.C., first and foremost we need BC Ferries to say: we are going to build ferries in B.C.,” said Brynn Bourke, executive director of the BC Building Trades.
“Then they need us to release a list of ferry replacements, on a schedule the whole sector can work around, to scale up and meet demand. That is the spark that then catalyses all of the other decisions around how we are going to organize the consortium, the expansion opportunities, and pull together the workforce development strategy.”
Without a clear road map, the provincial shipbuilding companies won’t be in a position to competitively bid against countries such as China, where ultra-low costs can be achieved due to low worker wages, poor human rights and questionable labour practices.
The coalition includes Allied Shipbuilders Ltd., the BC General Employees’ Union (BCGEU), United Steelworkers, and a variety of trades unions representing more than 7,000 workers.
It comes at a time when federal and provincial governments are throwing support behind domestic shipbuilding because of the U.S. trade war.
“We are clear-eyed that there is an economic case for doing it, there is a patriotic case for doing it and the moment is now,” said Bourke.
The coalition is expected to release an economic impact report in the coming days, outlining job and revenue benefits if the work is done locally. It’s also expected to push the issue at BC Ferries’ annual general meeting on Sept. 17.
BC Ferries announced last June it was contracting with the state-owned China Merchants Industry Weihai Shipyards to build four new ferries, citing cheaper costs than in Canada or Europe.
The move sparked intense controversy all the way to the House of Commons in Ottawa, where MPs raised security concerns, China’s history of interfering in Canadian elections, and whether BC Ferries was ultimately providing money to a nation hostile to Canada’s interests.
BC Ferries executives said no Canadian shipbuilders bid on the contract. The sector rebutted that claim, arguing BC Ferries’ procurement did not place enough emphasis on Canadian industry and left it unable to compete with the countries with lower labour standards, like China.
Eby, stung by calls that he should cancel the deal, promised changes.
“I look forward to being able to ensure the next round of ferries will be built right here at home,” he said last summer.
Since then, the Eby government has embedded the marine shipbuilding sector into its Look West jobs plan. But it has not ordered a timeline from BC Ferries on future needs, nor has it brought together a coalition of industry and labour to prepare for the demand.
“We looked at it and said we haven’t seen anything happening for the last few months so how do we advocate for some changes,” said Eric McNeely, president of the BC Ferry & Marine Workers’ Union, whose members run and maintain the BC Ferries fleet.
“The goal is to motivate both the employer and government to make some commitments, be more transparent.”
B.C. Ferries has not revealed the cost of the four Chinese ferries, but has argued it would save more than $1 billion building them there than at a European shipyard. But repairing those ships will require foreign parts and specialized foreign teams.
“If BC Ferries wants to argue that we don’t have the capacity to build them here, we wanted to mount a campaign to prove yes, we can,” said Bourke.
“In this moment, of tremendous global uncertainty, where shipbuilding can be one of our greatest areas of strength and potential, this is the time for us to do this.”
Rob Shaw has spent more than 18 years covering B.C. politics, now reporting for CHEK News and writing for BIV. He hosts the weekly show Political Capital and has a new daily podcast, Political Capital Daily.
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