BC Ferries says its internal research is showing strong demand for vehicle traffic this summer, which could lead to a record-breaking season.
BC Ferries CEO Mark Collins says traffic is already on the rise, with volumes hitting "at or above levels that we saw pre-pandemic."
"We think passengers will be down slightly compared to pre-pandemic, so maybe not a record there," he told CTV News on Thursday.
"But it looks like vehicular traffic could well break new records this summer."
Collins says a large factor in that estimate is pent-up demand.
Some ferry travellers that CTV News spoke with on Thursday were more skeptical, however.
"I kind of doubt it with high gas prices," said traveller John Jensen.
BC Ferries has also faced service challenges throughout the pandemic due to staffing shortages.
"It's going to suck to try to get anywhere without a reservation," said ferry passenger Tom Houson.
The BC Ferries Swartz Bay terminal is shown: July 13, 2020 (CTV News)
Collins says BC Ferries has hired about 850 new workers since January, and that the company is looking to hire roughly 160 more to prepare for the summer season.
"We look internally first," he said. "We develop, we train, we put a lot of investment into our people and try and grow from within."
Eric McNeely, president of the BC Ferry and Marine Workers' union, says it's hard to find skilled workers.
"Competition is fierce out there," he said, noting that prospective workers are weighing the hours of work required and salaries being offered.
"Some of the locations are hard to hire into," he added. "Salt Spring Island, Gibsons."
BC Ferries says it's working hard to hire more employees and is offering a new signing bonus of up to $10,000 for some senior positions.
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.
