Kootenay lake ferry labour action impact surve

KOOTENAY LAKE FERRY BCGEU JOB ACTION IMPACTS - SURVEY RESULTS

The BCGEU ferry workers went on strike November 3, 2025, reducing the ferry sailings for the Kootenay Lake ferry, and as of March 1, 2025, the strike is still ongoing. A survey was created to recognize the impacts of the strike on residents in the Balfour and surrounding areas, specific to the Kootenay Lake Ferry and its reduced sailings. 

The survey was open to submissions February 16, 2025 until February 26, 2025, and brought in 227 respondents. The respondents were from the East Shore (52%), Harrop-Procter (17%), Balfour (14%), North Shore (6%), Nelson area (5%), Kaslo area (4%), Ainsworth (2%). The data below shows that there were significant negative impacts to date, and concerns if the strike continues. The survey data speaks to the health, safety and welfare impacts and is outlined below. The full report is included in the downloads section below.

IMPACTS

The BCGEU strike action reduced the number of ferry sailings and made accessing the ferry when required very challenging. This action resulted in 93.4% of the respondents noting that their health, safety or welfare (economics) were impacted. 6.6% noted that they were not impacted by the strike in any of these three ways. 

● 77.5% experienced health impacts: mental health, medical appointments, social events, activities and more. 

● 71.8% experienced safety impacts: driving over the pass or other accessibility. 

● 48.9% experienced welfare impacts: economic loss, sales, salary, income and more. 

BUSINESSES in Balfour are also being adversely impacted.

For the full report, please click on the download section below.

A special thank you to the Area E Volunteer who helped me put the survey together and for compiling this final report. 

If you need more information, contact me at cgraham@rdck.bc.ca