Regulation
BC Ferries files its plan for fares from April 2028
The BC Ferries Commissioner is taking public comment until Feb 28, 2027 on BC Ferries' Performance Term 7 submission, received on October 1, 2026. The filing will be used to set the maximum allowable average annual increase in system-wide fares for the next four-year term.
Source: Office of the BC Ferries Commissioner (opens in a new tab)
The Office of the BC Ferries Commissioner said on 7 October 2026 that it had received BC Ferries' Performance Term 7 submission on October 1, 2026. Public comment is open until Feb 28, 2027. The commissioner will use the submission to set the price cap, the maximum allowable average annual increase on system-wide fares that BC Ferries will be permitted to charge in the upcoming four-year term.
In the submission, dated September 30, 2026, BC Ferries says Performance Term 7 runs from April 1, 2028, to March 31, 2032. It says final price caps for the term are expected to be established in September 2027. The current term, PT6, runs from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2028, with an annual price cap of 3.2 per cent. The submission says the province's $500 million in one-time Fare Affordability Funding for the current term ends on March 31, 2028, and that the PT7 filing does not assume that funding continues beyond that date.
BC Ferries says that under current projections its debt could increase from approximately $2 billion to over $4 billion through PT7, subject to regulatory approval of planned investments and its ability to access additional borrowing. The submission is published by the commissioner: BC Ferries' Submission for PT7 2026-10-01 (opens in a new tab).