A Vancouver Island MP is calling on Ottawa to provide a further subsidy to BC Ferries.

Courtenay-Alberni MP Gord Johns called on the federal government to make ferry travel more equitable across the country Wednesday.

He says it’s not fair that ferry passengers in eastern Canada are subsidized so much more than those in western Canada.

The call comes almost two months since BC Ferries increased its prices by 3.2 per cent.

It now costs $110 one-way for a vehicle and driver between Vancouver Island and the the Lower Mainland.

Watch the full story in the video below:

“That’s one of the main reasons I don’t come over anymore is the cost of the ferries,” said Steve Moore, a BC Ferries customer. “Way too expensive.”

Contrast that to the 75-minute ferry between Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, a vehicle and driver there costs $48 round trip.

“According to the Library of Parliament, when you look at per passenger subsidy, on the east coast they’re getting about $291 per passenger. In B.C. it’s about $1.63 in terms of federal subsidies,” said Johns.

Johns argued for ferry parity in Parliament Wednesday. His full address can be found here.

“The issue is that Vancouver Islanders are asking why essential marine highways on the west coast aren’t treated with the same level of federal importance. The federal government keeps pointing to constitutional agreements signed more than 80 years ago and funding formulas created nearly 50 years ago when Vancouver island had 450,000 residents,” said Johns.

Perhaps not surprisingly this is an issue on Vancouver Island that crosses party lines.

“I think Gord made some good points,” said Aaron Gunn, the North Island-Powell River MP. “It’s completely unfair that we’re not getting the same level of funding from the federal government for the exact same service that’s being delivered out east.”

Gunn notes that when B.C. joined confederation the province was promised a bridge to Vancouver Island that never came to fruition.

Saanich-Gulf Islands MP Elizabeth May agrees. “Bottom line, I agree with Gord. We’re getting a raw deal so I would structure it around how has the world changed between 1867 and 2026? Number one, B.C. negotiated on the basis of railways. Where’s the Island railway?”

The two Liberal MP’s on Vancouver Island said they were unavailable for on-camera interviews before the deadline for this story.

In a statement, Victoria MP Will Greaves said he agrees that the Island was overlooked for too long and that he shares the same frustrations as Johns. Greaves says the disparity in federal support compared to the east is real and long-standing and is an issue he’s raised himself.

Greaves said he’s proud that the Canada Infrastructure Bank is loaning $1 billion in low-interest financing to replace BC Ferries’ oldest vessels.

Gord Johns addressing Parliament about unfair ferry fares in B.C. on May 27, 2026.