BC Ferries transported 108,000 vehicles from Thursday to Monday, setting a record for the Victoria Day long weekend and beating the previous record of 105,000 vehicles set in 2018. (CTV News)
BC Ferries saw no staff-related service disruptions over the Victoria Day long weekend, even as it carried a record number of vehicles, according to its president and CEO.
Crew-related delays and cancellations have plagued the ferry service for months as it coped with a shortage of workers.
President Mark Collins says BC Ferries has hired more than 850 new employees since January, including 500 people in the last six weeks, mostly to junior positions.
"We are still struggling to find licensed experienced officers," Collins said, noting the shortage of experienced mariners is a worldwide issue and has been for years.
Collins says the ferry service transported 108,000 vehicles from Thursday to Monday, setting a record for the Victoria Day long weekend and beating the previous record of 105,000 vehicles set in 2018.
"Vehicles are exceeding pre-pandemic [levels]," Collins told CFAX 1070 on Thursday, adding that passenger numbers were lower but "not far off" pre-pandemic levels.
Nearly 300,000 people travelled aboard a ferries vessel over the long weekend, when the company added 110 extra sailings to cope with the anticipated demand.
The ferries president said all signs indicate a busy travel summer for BC Ferries, noting August is the peak travel month for the company.
"We're pulling out all the stops to make sure we're ready for a big summer in British Columbia," Collins said.
Two young emergency room doctors, raised and trained in Montreal, are leaving their jobs after only two years to move back to Toronto – and they say the Quebec health-care model and Bill 96 are to blame.
Crown counsel is seeking to revoke the prior order that granted bail for Tamara Lich, an organizer of the 'Freedom Convoy,' and says he will argue for her to be detained.
The gunman who attacked an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago fired more than 70 rounds with an AR-15-style gun that killed at least six people, then evaded initial capture by dressing as a woman and blending into the fleeing crowd, police said Tuesday.
Hours after gunfire interrupted the Highland Park, Illinois, July Fourth parade, killing six people and wounding dozens more, police apprehended the man they believe was responsible.
The Bank of Canada's strategy of rapidly increasing its key interest rate in an effort to tackle skyrocketing inflation will likely trigger a recession, a new study from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) says.
Canada became the first country to ratify Finland and Sweden's accession protocols to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Tuesday.
As passport processing delays and long lineups persist at Service Canada offices, the federal government is looking to buy 801 chairs for people standing in line by the end of this week.
Dressed in Indigenous regalia, National Chief RoseAnne Archibald strode into the annual Assembly of First Nations gathering in Vancouver ahead of a group of chanting supporters on Tuesday. Just the day before, Archibald said she had been 'erased' from the agenda after her suspension in June. Instead, she led opening ceremonies and welcomed attendees in her opening address.
South Africa's president will attend the funeral Wednesday for the 21 teenagers who died mysteriously at a tavern last month.
A city in British Columbia's Interior is under a state of local emergency following several reports of flash flooding, and there's more rain in the forecast for the region.
Police in Saanich, B.C., are expected to provide an update on the condition of the six officers who sustained gunshot wounds in a robbery and shootout with two men outside a bank last week.
The Amtrak Cascades passenger train is expected to resume operations between Vancouver and Seattle in September, for the first since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The attorney general of Alberta will intervene in competition tribunal proceedings regarding the $26-billion merger between Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc., according to a notice filed Monday.
Pieces of glass tumbled from the 29th floor of the Stantec Tower Monday evening, damaging two parked cars.
An Edmonton flight bound for Halifax never made it to its destination after landing gear sustained damage during takeoff Monday afternoon.
A few Ontario cities and towns are now offering to pay tourists to encourage them to stay overnight this summer.
As flight delays and lost luggage bring chaos to summer travel plans, Air Canada is advising travellers on how much time they should leave between connecting flights.
The driver of a Lamborghini, which is worth nearly half a million dollars, is facing a stunt driving charge after being caught going nearly triple the speed limit, police say.
A 27-year-old man has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with a death at the McDonald's in Sundre, Alta. early Monday morning.
Calgary councillors are scheduled to debate and vote on a 99-page climate strategy.
The attorney general of Alberta will intervene in competition tribunal proceedings regarding the $26-billion merger between Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc., according to a notice filed Monday.
Two young emergency room doctors, raised and trained in Montreal, are leaving their jobs after only two years to move back to Toronto – and they say the Quebec health-care model and Bill 96 are to blame.
Quebec is reporting another jump in COVID-19 cases on Tuesday as the province records 20 more deaths and 147 additional hospitalizations in the last 24 hours.
At least three sleepaway camps in Quebec have temporarily shut down because of COVID-19 outbreaks, according to the province's camps association (ACQ).
A woman, a teenager and a one-year-old girl have died following a crash in East Port Hebert, N.S., on Monday.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) says an entangled North Atlantic right whale has been spotted in the Gulf of St. Lawrence between Miscou Island, N.B., and the Magdalen Islands.
A park in west end Halifax that became the site of an encampment last fall is closing to the public and removing unhoused inhabitants in the process.
It has been a year and a half since a 33-year-old man disappeared in Winnipeg. Police now believe he was a victim of foul play and say someone out there knows something.
Manitobans will soon receive their first quarterly Climate Action Incentive (CAI) payments.
Four people have been charged after police say a serious assault happened at a business in Grand Marais, Man.
Another piece of the Region of Waterloo International Airport’s new multi-million expansion is now complete.
A Cambridge family has launched a $5.5-million civil lawsuit against Victus Academy, an elite hockey prep school in Kitchener, and three of its students.
Benjamin Dufour, the seven-year-old boy who was gravely injured by an impaired driver in Regina last month, has shown positive signs of recovery, according to a news release from his family.
The Moose Jaw Warriors will have a new logo for the 2022-23 season, after unveiling a Snowbirds-inspired design on Tuesday morning.
The Canadian Tire in east Regina was evacuated Tuesday morning while the Regina Police Service (RPS) arrested a robbery suspect.
Police in Barrie arrested a man wanted on a Canada-wide warrant as he made his way into the city Monday night.
Police in Innisfil released an image of a vehicle allegedly involved in a hit and run that sent a motorcyclist to the hospital.
Innisfil friends are running their second annual charity garage sale - aptly named Innisfil's Biggest Garage Sale - on July 9 and 10.
Saskatoon police were dealing with a moose roaming the city Tuesday morning.
RCMP are investigating a fatal two-vehicle crash about five kilometres north of Martensville on Highway 12.
The Council of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan has rescinded its guidelines on how physicians should handle unplanned pregnancies.
With doctor shortages causing emergency rooms around the country to shut down, a northern Ontario hospital is scrambling to stave off the same fate.
A 25-year-old resident of Mindemoya has been charged in connection with a fatal crash June 4 north of Webbwood.
The Bank of Canada's strategy of rapidly increasing its key interest rate in an effort to tackle skyrocketing inflation will likely trigger a recession, a new study from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) says.
