STRATEGIC INVESTMENT IN BC PORTS AND TRANSPORTATION CORRIDORS (2025)

Issue

Global tariff disputes, the worldwide pandemic, climate change and major weather events such as those experienced across British Columbia in the summer and fall of 2021 have turned a spotlight on supply chain vulnerabilities and the devastating economic impacts of temporary closures of critical transportation routes to the provincial and national economy. There is a need to implement solutions for the safe and timely movement of goods and people, and food security is critical for businesses, communities, and citizens across Canada.

Background

In 2021, significant extreme weather events, including flooding and fires, significantly impacted the province’s trade corridors with the rest of Canada and North America, exposed supply chain vulnerabilities and caused disruptions for many businesses. These issues compounded the supply chain challenges the province and country were already experiencing as a result of the pandemic, and more recently, the US-driven global tariff disputes. Combined, these events brought into sharp focus the vulnerability of our supply chains.

As a vital link in our trade infrastructure, BC’s ports must have the capacity and resiliency to support our businesses in the future. They have long been recognized for their importance to the overall health of the economy.

There are four Canadian port authorities (CPA) located in BC: the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority (Port of Vancouver), the Prince Rupert Port Authority, the Nanaimo Port Authority and the Port Alberni Port Authority.

Accountable to the federal Minister of Transport, CPAs are mandated under the Canada Marine Act to enable Canada’s trade, while protecting the environment and considering local communities. Port authorities manage federal lands and waters in support of national trade objectives that benefit Canadians. This is accomplished by leasing federal lands to independent terminal operators who handle trade and by providing marine, road and other infrastructure to support growth and maintain Canada’s supply chains.[1]

CPA operations are not financed by tax dollars. Instead, Ports receive revenues from terminal and tenant leases as well as harbour dues and fees charged to shipping companies that call the Port.

Marine ports are substantial economic generators, serving as key nodes to the country’s transportation infrastructure and facilitating the movement of goods and people through corridors. The Port of Vancouver is comprised of a wide network of businesses and organizations whose operations support a large share of economic activity in Cananda. This is reflected in the estimated 47,700 full time equivalent (FTEs) of employment that are directly involved in Port Operations and the $6.8 Billion directly contributed to Canada’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).[2]

CPA themselves are major employers. Approximately 71,000 Canadians are directly employed by ongoing day to-day activities as terminal operators and longshoremen, as well as in operations related to tugging, shipping, rail transportation, trucking, and freight forwarding.[3] CPAs also generate additional employment along the supply chain, with 90,000 jobs in industries that supply port operations and another 53,000 in induced employment created by port employees’ spending in the economy. Canadian ports generate $53 billion in economic output, $25 billion in GDP and $2 billion in taxes annually. In addition, our ports facilitate the trade of billions more dollars across multiple sectors who employ hundreds of thousands of workers across the nation.

Several critical port authority led infrastructure projects have been proposed in BC that will make Canada’s west coast more resilient to future supply chain challenges such as the disruptions, congestion and major highway closures experienced in BC in November 2021.

In April 2025, the Nanaimo Port Authority recently celebrated a groundbreaking event in partnership with the Snuneymuxw First Nation and DP World to expand the existing container terminal located at Duke Point in Nanaimo. This $105M project will bring high-paying jobs to the area and provide much needed resiliency in the network to address backlogs at the Port of Vancouver and some of the challenges outlined above.[4]

In January 2025, the Prince Rupert Port Authority and Metlakatla Development Corporation (MDC) announced a partnership to develop the South Kaien Import Logistics Park (SKILP). This $100M Indigenous-led joint venture will enable long-term economic benefits and new employment opportunities for local indigenous workers, while bolstering intermodal trade through the Prince Rupert Gateway.[5]

In June 2024, the Port Alberni Port Authority received commitments from the Province of BC by way of a grant from the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food for the Dock + project, a partnership with Nova Harvest Ltd. and Huu-ay-aht First Nations Fisheries LP marking a significant step forward in the continued development of a thriving seafood hub on Vancouver Island to ensure food security and regional economic development in the years to come.[6]

The need for strategic investments in the growth and expansion of BC’s Ports is critical to our ability to meet the demands of an increasing population, meet the expectations of our trading partners who purchase our goods and natural resources, and ensure we reduce congestion on our roadways and eliminate unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions.

THE CHAMBER RECOMMENDS

That the Provincial Government:

1. Invest in and support critical infrastructure supply chain projects that will mitigate congestion, reduce bottlenecks and decrease GHG emissions at BC Ports.
2. Work with the BC port authorities, industry stakeholders and Indigenous Peoples to research and fund feasibility studies to address future port capacity needs.
3. Work with the federal government to identify more efficient regulatory processes for future port expansion projects to be considered to reduce the time, investment and costs required to move a project through from concept to completion.

That the Federal Government:

4. Invest in green infrastructure Port and Rail projects that aim to address future supply chain demands with dedicated supply chain corridors and assist Canadian Port Authorities with mitigating challenges such as access to land and capital borrowing.