---
title: "Doerkson Says New Government Will Review BC Ferries Shipbuilding Contract"
description: "Premier-designate Lorne Doerkson says the incoming Conservative government wants to look at BC Ferries' contract with a Chinese shipyard for four new vessels."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/bc/provincial-2026/news/bc-ferries-shipbuilding-doerkson-review-2026"
last_updated: "2026-10-31T17:06:49.228Z"
---

Premier-designate Lorne Doerkson said October 30 that the incoming BC Conservative government wants to review BC Ferries' contract with a Chinese shipyard for four new vessels, though he acknowledged the government has not yet seen the contract details.

"I don't know what the deal looks like, I mean we would obviously have an interest in seeing that," [Doerkson](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/lorne-doerkson) told Global News. "There's so much that we haven't seen, but there's a reason to look at it for the betterment of British Columbia and I'll look at it for sure."

BC Ferries awarded a contract to Weihai Shipyards in China to build four Summit-class hybrid-electric ferries, with the first delivery scheduled for 2029. The corporation said at the time that no Canadian shipyard had submitted a bid for the project. A study found that building the four ferries in BC would have added $1.5 billion in economic activity to the province, most of it locally, Global News reported.

**What experts say about changing the deal**

Werner Antweiler, a professor at UBC's Sauder School of Business, told Global News the contracts are signed and that cancelling them would carry a financial penalty. "That is a cost that would have to be considered in addition to finding a replacement," he said.

Jim Stanford, an economist and director of the Centre for Future Work, said the incoming government would need to go further than a review. "They will have to be ready with concrete measures including a change in the mandate for BC Ferries to ensure economic development issues are part of what BC Ferries does," Stanford told Global News.

Eric McNeely, president of the BC Ferries and Marine Workers Union, said he believes the Summit-class contract with Weihai Shipyards is likely locked in, but that other vessels in the fleet will also need renewal. Those future contracts could still be handled differently, he told Global News.

**The platform promise**

The Conservative Party of BC platform, page 29, promises to review the current fleet renewal contracts and says BC should not build ships in China. That commitment is tracked at [/bc/provincial-2026/tracker#gov-promise-review-ferry-fleet-contracts](/bc/provincial-2026/tracker#gov-promise-review-ferry-fleet-contracts).

**Change at BC Ferries**

CEO Nicolas Jimenez was dismissed two days after the October 24 election, as part of what BC Ferries called a revitalization review. BC Ferries said in a statement that it recognizes the interest in what a change in government and the recent leadership transition could mean for the fleet renewal program.

People who ride BC Ferries can follow the government's stated commitment on fleet contracts at the [BC provincial tracker](/bc/provincial-2026/tracker). The Conservative platform also promises a Passenger Charter of Rights and reliable Wi-Fi on major routes and terminals.

## Sitemap

See the full [sitemap](/bc/provincial-2026/sitemap.md) for all pages.