British Columbia has always operated at a remove from the rest of Canada. It is a beautiful, isolated enclave, far from the business and political hubs in the East. That has often made it an incubator for innovative policies—but it can also result in blinkered outcomes that lack any appreciation of other potentially more critical national considerations.
This has been plainly exemplified in the recent controversy surrounding B.C. Ferries’ plans to procure four new ferries from a Chinese state-owned shipbuilding firm, CMI Weihai Shipyards. B.C. Ferries, a private company owned by the province, prioritized CMI over bids from both domestic competitors and companies from allied nations for the shipbuilding contract that will ultimately deliver replacements for the aging fleet.
This story parallels another not-too-distant ferry replacement in another often overlooked part of the country, when Marine Atlantic, a federal Crown corporation, leased a new passenger ferry that was built in a Chinese state-owned shipyard. This happened in 2021, at a time when the two Michaels were still in Chinese captivity, though it drew significantly less attention than the current scandal has.
There is no other way to say it: B.C. going through this purchase is deeply foolish and naive in every respect. Beijing is a clear strategic, geopolitical, and economic competitor to Canada; it has continually pursued aggressive policies that directly challenge this country’s interests, whether in the recent trade tariffs devastating Western Canadian farmers, interference in our country’s elections, or directly challenging Canada’s partners in Asia.
