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David Eby's NDP pledges new shipyard to build BC Ferries vessels locally

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If re-elected, Premier David Eby says his BC NDP-led provincial government will work with Prime Minister Mark Carney to build a new additional major shipyard in British Columbia and provide permanent funding to help manufacturers upgrade their operations.

Speaking today at the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade’s forum with the top three provincial party leaders, ahead of the provincial general election on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, Eby outlined commitments covering shipbuilding, manufacturing and food processing, presenting them as ways to support businesses facing trade uncertainty.

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The shipyard proposal would involve the federal government, shipbuilders, and labour organizations. Such a facility would support Canada’s defence needs and increase the provincial government’s capacity to build future BC Ferries vessels.

The party describes the proposal as an opportunity to develop Canada’s first new major shipyard in a generation, with the potential to generate thousands of jobs throughout B.C.

According to the BC NDP, the provincial government has up to $250 million available through its Strategic Investment Fund to help attract private investment and federal funding under the Canada-B.C. Shared Prosperity Agreement reached with Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Historically, shipbuilding has been one of the BC NDP’s focuses. During the October 2020 provincial election, for instance, then-Premier John Horgan made a campaign promise to implement a long-term B.C. shipbuilding strategy to create more jobs and bring more work to local shipyards.

In the 1990s, the BC NDP government also championed the construction of fast catamaran ferries in B.C., aiming to establish the province as a global player in ferry shipbuilding. The project of building the trio of fast cat vessels for BC Ferries ultimately proved to be both an operational failure and a political disaster for the party.

In September 2026, just days before the snap provincial election call, Eby announced BC Ferries’ future additional order of two Summit-class vessels (formerly known as New Major Vessels) in the second half of the 2030s would be built at B.C. shipyards. This follows the 2025 controversy, when the ferry company announced they had selected a Mainland China shipyard owned by the Government of China to build the first four Summit-class ships.

BC Ferries selected the Chinese shipyard after conducting an international bidding process that saw no Canadian bids. The Chinese shipyard was chosen for reasons that include a highly competitive price, and a delivery timeline beginning before the end of this decade that met BC Ferries’ timely vessel replacement and capacity needs. Canadian shipyards did not submit a bid partly because they did not have the capacity to do so, as they are preoccupied with their existing contracts for the federal government’s National Shipbuilding Strategy of building new combat and non-combat vessels.

Even if B.C.’s shipbuilding capacity is increased, BC Ferries has repeatedly warned that building future ships locally would necessitate receiving significant capital funding from senior governments to help cover the drastically higher cost, compared to shipyards in China and Europe. BC Ferries is facing a fiscal cliff later this decade due to its rising operating and capital costs, with the ferry company previously warning of a potential major upward pressure in fares starting in 2028.

The Summit-class vessels will be BC Ferries’ largest vessels, exceeding the size and capacity of the existing Spirit-class vessels. These new ships will serve the major routes linking Metro Vancouver with Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast.

Today’s announcement by Eby did not identify a proposed location or completion timeline for the new shipyard.

Conceptual artistic rendering of the Summit Arbutus ship. (BC Ferries)

Eby also pledged to make the B.C. Manufacturing Jobs Fund permanent, with an annual budget of $60 million. Part of that funding would be dedicated to forestry mills affected by tariffs, helping them update their facilities, maintain employment and find additional markets for their products.

A third commitment would allow more food processing on eligible properties within the protected Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) that are poorly suited to primary food production. The BC NDP notes that they would maintain protections for prime farmland while making room for more B.C. food to be processed within the province, supporting local employment.

Eby argued that continued investment in infrastructure and public services is necessary to support economic growth.

“The last thing we need is deep cuts that undermine our ability to grow, halt critical infrastructure, and weaken the public services businesses rely on to attract talent. We need to build on our progress and keep working with the Prime Minister, not put it at risk with cuts and chaos,” said the BC NDP leader.

The announcement also highlighted economic figures that the party cited as evidence of progress, while acknowledging that businesses continue to face pressure from the trade war.

According to the the party, B.C. exports to destinations outside the United States have increased by 16 per cent over the past year.

During the provincial general election on Oct. 24, voters will choose the MLA for their riding, which will help determine which provincial political party forms provincial government. Advance voting in the provincial election will span a six-day period from Friday, Oct. 16 to Wednesday, Oct. 21.

A week before the provincial election, on Saturday, Oct. 17, voters across B.C. will also cast their ballots in the municipal election to choose their next mayor, city councillors, and other local representatives.

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