BC Ferries announced in June it was buying four massive ferries from a Chinese state-owned shipyard.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
Transport Canada had weeks of warning before BC Ferries made a controversial announcement in June that it was buying four new ships from China, according to an e-mail from the ferry organization’s head.
The purchase was swiftly condemned at the time by Chrystia Freeland, who was transport minister until she stepped down from the position on Tuesday to become Ottawa’s special representative to Ukraine.
The e-mail, sent by BC Ferries president and CEO Nicolas Jimenez to deputy transport minister Arun Thangaraj, is part of an exchange between the two men obtained by The Globe and Mail. In it, Mr. Jimenez sharply criticized Ms. Freeland for her public position against the purchase, despite what he described as ample notice.
Deputy ministers are the top public servants in a department and are responsible for providing regular policy briefings to the responsible cabinet minister.
Mr. Jimenez said he was “troubled” by Ms. Freeland’s criticism of his organization’s purchase of the new vessels, writing in a June e-mail to her deputy minister that he had given him a heads-up six weeks before the announcement.
The exchange included an April 29, 2025 e-mail titled “confidential follow-up” in which Mr. Jimenez outlined the potential issues, including national-security concerns, that could arise if BC Ferries went ahead with the plan to buy new ferries from a Chinese state-owned shipyard.
A few weeks later in early June, BC Ferries publicly announced the plan to purchase four massive ferries from China Merchants Industry Weihai Shipyards, saying the winning bidder was the clear choice.
BC Ferries has said that new ships are urgently needed and that no Canadian companies had bid for the work. Representatives of two Canadian shipyards, Davie Shipbuilding and Seaspan Shipyards, have criticized the bidding process, saying it effectively ruled out Canadian companies.
BC Ferries provides passenger and vehicle ferry services for the province’s coastal and island communities. It is an independent company that is primarily funded by the B.C. government but it also receives about $37.8-million a year from Ottawa for ferry operations.
The announcement of the ship purchase first became an issue in B.C. politics, with Premier David Eby saying he was “not happy” with the plan and that ferries should be “built here at home in Canada.”
Then, federal Conservatives repeatedly raised the issue in June in the House of Commons, calling on Ottawa to step in.
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Ms. Freeland sent a strongly worded letter in June, after the announcement, to B.C. Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth expressing her “great consternation and disappointment” with the planned purchase.
The Globe reported this week that on the same afternoon that Ms. Freeland was telling the Commons that there was no federal connection to the purchase, senior Liberal staffers were strategizing over how to manage a looming announcement that Canada Infrastructure Bank, a federal Crown corporation, had provided BC Ferries a $1-billion loan for the purchase and related infrastructure.
The e-mails from Mr. Jimenez to the deputy minister do not mention the CIB loan.
The Commons broke for summer on Friday, June 20. Two days later, on Sunday afternoon, the BC Ferries CEO sent another e-mail to Ms. Freeland’s deputy minister.
He said he was “disappointed” to hear of conversations Mr. Thangaraj has had with BC Ferries.
“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 [Weihai] was not a good idea and that engaging you when I did was in fact too late for federal involvement on security related matters,” he wrote.
“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.”
Mr. Jimenez then expressed his concern with Ms. Freeland’s letter to the B.C. government, saying he was “troubled” by the minister’s public comments.
“Your minister has repeatedly suggested she was unaware, despite my confidential heads up to you six weeks prior to the public rollout of our decision.
“In my e-mail after our meeting, where I documented much of what we discussed, it was my understanding that you would need to advise some in your government and I only asked that those who knew were aware of the stage of our procurement (which had not yet concluded).”
Mr. Jimenez’s e-mail questioned why Ms. Freeland was saying no federal funding can go toward the BC Ferries purchase. He wrote that Ottawa provides about $190-million in funding for Marine Atlantic’s ferry service between Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia and that the federal Crown corporation has used the same Chinese shipyard.
“I would much prefer to engage with the federal government as a strategic partner, and am hopeful we can continue to engage proactively to support each other and work collaboratively through the delivery of our new major vessels,” he wrote, offering to provide Ms. Freeland with a detailed briefing.
The Commons transport committee approved in a 5-4 vote a motion last month requesting a range of government documents related to the BC Ferries purchase and the CIB loan. Mr. Jimenez’s exchange with the deputy minister was included in the government’s response to that request.
During the summer recess, that committee held a special meeting where MPs heard testimony from Ms. Freeland, Housing and Infrastructure Minister Gregor Robertson, CIB chief executive Ehren Cory and Mr. Jimenez.
Ms. Freeland announced Tuesday that she was resigning from the federal cabinet, but would continue to sit as a Liberal MP. She will serve as Canada’s special representative for Ukraine.
Laura Scaffidi, a spokesperson for new Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon, said in a statement that Ottawa was not involved in the purchase.
“We have been unequivocally clear that our new government had no role in this procurement, and are profoundly disappointed by BC Ferries’ decision. This situation underscores that now more than ever, we must support Canadian workers and industries,” she said.
A spokesperson for BC Ferries said Wednesday that Mr. Jimenez had no further comment.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the Commons transport committee unanimously approved a motion last month requesting a range of government documents related to the BC Ferries purchase and the CIB loan. The motion was approved in a 5-4 vote.