“They all knew,” says opposition critic about BC Ferries China contract

A B.C. Conservative says former transport minister Chrystia Freeland was well aware that Ottawa was bankrolling the BC Ferries deal with a Chinese company.

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A B.C. Conservative says former transport minister Chrystia Freeland was well aware that Ottawa was bankrolling the BC Ferries deal with a Chinese company, despite her claims of being blindsided following a leak of internal emails.

Opposition Critic for Transportation Harman Banghu said, “they all knew” before it became public that BC Ferries awarded a contract to China Merchants Industry Weihai Shipyards to construct four new vessels.

The deal was announced in June and faced backlash from both Canadian shipbuilding companies and Canadians who believed in the ‘Elbows Up’ message.

Then transport minister Freeland quickly condemned the deal, writing an open letter to B.C. Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth. She cited China’s “unjustified tariffs on Canada” and “ongoing concerns regarding threats to security, including cybersecurity.”

Freeland’s letter called for Farnworth to “verify and confirm with utmost certainty that no federal funding will be diverted to support the acquisition of these new ferries.”

B.C. Premier David Eby also said he was “not happy,” saying that the ferries should be “built here at home in Canada.”

However, email exchanges between BC Ferries president Nicolas Jimenez and deputy transport minister Arun Thangaraj obtained by the Globe and Mail revealed that the federal government knew of the potential issues of the contract before it was finalized.

The contract not only sparked frustrations over moving taxpayer money out of the country but also raised significant concerns about national security.

“Freeland, David Eby, Mark Carney all knew weeks before the BC Ferry deal was announced, but instead of stopping it, they just went along and played politics,” Banghu told True North. “They didn’t act on it, they pretended to be blindsided, slamming BC Ferries in letters and speeches while the whole Liberal staff scrambled to keep the Infrastructure Bank loan a secret.”

The Canada Infrastructure Bank provided BC Ferries with a $1 billion low-interest loan to procure four new ships from a Chinese state-owned shipyard. This became a major bone of contention as domestic shipping yards such as Seaspan and Davies were unable to compete.

“Freeland told the House of Commons that there was no federal connection while Ottawa was bankrolling the whole Chinese-built ferry scenario. Eby said he “wasn’t happy about the deal,” but he knew in advance from the emails.”

“They all knew,” said Banghu, MLA for Langley-Abbotsford.

Jimenez criticized Freeland over her public position against the purchase, arguing that BC Ferries provided the government with ample notice.

In an April 29, 2025 e-mail titled “confidential follow-up,” Jimenez outlined the potential national security issues faced by BC Ferries if it went ahead with acquiring a Chinese state-owned shipyard to construct the vessels, six weeks before the announcement was made public.

“It appears you made statements that don’t align with my memory of what was a constructive and cordial conversation in April. It was suggested that you advised me our decision to award a contract to CMI was not a good idea and that engaging you when I did was, in fact, too late for federal involvement on security-related matters,” wrote Jimenez in an email.

“I don’t recall any negative comments about our discussion to award a contract to the same shipyard that built Marine Atlantic’s new ship, the Ala’suinu, which went into service last year.”

While BC Ferries is an independent company, it receives funding from the B.C. government in addition to roughly $37.8 million annually from Ottawa for operations. Given the millions in taxpayer subsidies, Canadian shipyards were outraged by the foreign procurement to build the new vessels.

“The Liberals just sat there and then they went silent while companies like Seaspan and Davies were frozen at the process because there is no way they can win these bids. There is a cost to putting in a bid. Why would they just set that money ablaze?” said Banghu.

“Even the Bloc MP said everyone was taken for idiots, that was his direct quote, and now she (Freeland) steps away, just as she was about to have to go and answer some tough questions.”

Freeland recently left Carney’s cabinet to become a special envoy to Ukraine. However, she will be called back to a committee to testify following the emails.

“It’s complete negligence. The public deserves to know this and there needs to be transparency. There is a reason why people are losing trust in our public institutions,” said Banghu.