The SeaBus passes a container ship docked at the Port of Vancouver in October, 2025.Jennifer Gauthier/The Globe and Mail
The Port of Vancouver has set a record high for annual cargo handled, bolstered by increased trade between Canada and China.
Canada’s largest port processed 170.4 million tonnes last year of imported and exported cargo. Exports of crude oil, grain and potash hit record levels.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has been striving to boost Canadian shipments to Asia while seeking to reduce economic reliance on the United States.
“The volatility in the world today underscores the importance of what the Prime Minister is talking about, and it also underscores how important the Port of Vancouver is in achieving those objectives for Canada,” Peter Xotta, president of the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, said in an interview.
Port of Vancouver handles record volumes as Canadian trade shifts toward Asia
Last year’s total cargo volume surpassed the 158.4 million tonnes handled in 2024 and 150.4 million tonnes in 2023.
Oil tankers have been loading since the spring of 2024 from Trans Mountain’s Westridge Marine Terminal in the Vancouver suburb of Burnaby, including shipments to China.
The Port of Vancouver handles more cargo annually than the next five largest ports in Canada combined.
China is by far the largest trading partner with Canada at the West Coast port. China accounted for 52.6 million tonnes of exported and imported cargo last year, up 15 per cent from 2024.
Canada-U.S. trade at the Port of Vancouver increased 12 per cent to 11.6 million tonnes.
The shipping industry deploys large vessels to carry containers, which are reusable steel boxes. Container trade is tracked through an industry measurement called TEUs (20-foot equivalent units).
Nearly 3.8 million TEUs of exports and imports went through the Port of Vancouver in 2025, up 9 per cent compared with 2024. Last year marked a record for containerized cargo, surpassing the previous high set in 2021.
More than 56 per cent of the total exported containers from the port last year were empty. Instead of waiting for containers to be loaded with Canadian goods, shipping companies have been paying for them to be sent to Asia empty, so that they can be filled faster for the trip back to Canada.
There were more than one million TEUs of empty containers exported from Canada’s largest port last year, up 21 per cent from 2024.
The Port of Vancouver continues to trail the pack in the Container Port Performance Index, compiled by the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence.
“We recognize that there’s further investment necessary. We need to get on with it,” Mr. Xotta said.
The port has been touting plans for its Roberts Bank Terminal 2 container project, to be located on an artificial island near Delta, B.C. A preferred construction team for RBT2 is expected to be selected this summer.