Colley West Shipping are proud to be the exclusive Vancouver agent for our Canadian Navy. And last week we welcomed the HMCS Corner Brook, one of four patrol subs in the Royal Canadian Navy, into the Port of Vancouver. These subs play a key role in Canadian security and our national defense by undertaking lengthy covert patrols in Canadian maritime areas of responsibility.

Purchased from the British Royal Navy in early 2003 and commissioned as the HMSC Corner Brook later that year, she is a Victoria Class sub with a LOA of 70.26m and a displacement of 2,400 long tons when submerged. The submarine has a speed of 12 knots on the surface and 20 knots when submerged, with a range of 10,000 nautical miles based on 12 knots.

Not only is she stealthy but also lethal; armed with 6 torpedo tubes and 18 Mark 48 Mod 7 AT torpedoes, capable of sinking deep-diving nuclear-powered subs and high-performance surface vessels.

Our hats off to the committed and brave members of our military for the sacrifices made by them and their families.

The Washington state-based Center for Whale Research says a new baby orca has been spotted with one of the critically endangered southern resident killer whale pods in the Salish Sea.

The adorably named J-63 is believed to be the first orca calf delivered by J-40 and is the fourth born to J Pod in the last twelve months. The other nist recently born calf, J-62, first spotted in early March was again seen traveling with the pod when when they were recently spotted last wee off the coast near Victoria. Most importantly for the pod, J-62 is a confirmed female, desperately needed in the pod for reproduction, while the sex of her cousin J-63 is still to be determined. Both are said to be “Filling out well and behaving normally.

Sadly the other two calves, born in late 2024, both died within weeks of being born. Scientists have linked the high rate of pregnancy failures to a lack of adequate, quality food in the region (particularly Chinook salmon) and noisy waters that make it more difficult for the orcas to hunt.

Canada’s next federal election has been set for Monday, April 28. One of the major issues in this election, as it seems to have been in many previous, will be housing affordability and availability for both current Canadians and our growing population. All of the candidates for Prime Minister are promising to build more and affordable homes and the infrastructure needed. However there is growing concern among the agricultural sector as to how this will effect available farm land for Canada in the future.

Canada is the world`s second largest country in total area and is the fourth largest country in total land mass but only about 7.5% of that area is suitable for agricultural use. And within that percentage, 4.2 % is only suitable as pastureland, leaving us just 3.2% of Canada’s total land area available to grow food.

While this still represents a substantial area of land given the size of our country, it is now estimated that Canada is currently losing approximately 20,000 hectares of prime farmland to urban expansion each year. This is the equivalent to the loss of 24,500 Canadian football fields (or about 37,400 American football fields) every year in vital farmland. The total reported area of arable land across the country is down 8% in the last two decades dropping from 68 million hectares in 2001 to 62 million in 2021.

It is estimated our country’s population will grow another 5 million (up to 45 million people) over the next ten years. Couple this with climate change causing more and more extreme weather events around the world which will in turn lead to soil erosion and poor conditions that will further impact farmer’s ability to grow crops and raise livestock. Suddenly the future of our overall crop production doesn’t look so bountiful.

It has been a difficult year to date for Canadian canola farmers, who have dealt with the uncertainty wrought by the US’ recent unpredictable tariff policies, and have now taken a major blow from our other top trading partner.

On March 20, China’s Ministry of Commerce enacted a 100% tariff on Canadian canola oil and meal and pea imports, along with 25% duties on seafood and pork. Canola seed exports currently remain exempt from tariffs. This was done in retaliation for Canada’s levies of 100% on Chinese electric vehicles and 25% on their steel and aluminum products, introduced in October 2024. The Chinese ministry have described the Canadian imposed tariffs as serious violations of World Trade Organization rules and as discriminatory measures that severely harm China’s legitimate rights and interests.

With planting season fast approaching, farmers in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, who depend heavily on Chinese exports, are wary of the impending financial losses. The tariffs have the potential to significantly affect Canada’s agriculture and agri-food industry due to the size of China’s market for Canada’s canola and canola products. Per the Canola Council of Canada (CCC),our canola exports to China were valued at CA$4.9 billion in 2024, including 2 million metric tonnes of canola meal, valued at CA$918 million, and 15,351 metric tonnes of canola oil, valued at CA$20.6 million.

Federal ministers have issued statements affirming their support for farmers, but of course no direct compensation plan has been announced with no negotiations between the governments seemingly on the horizon. Figuratively, this is looking like a stormy season for our farmers.

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority (VFPA) released their annual statistics in March, revealing a record 158 million metric tonnes (MMT) of cargo moved through the port in 2024. Led by strong performances in the bulk, auto and container sectors, that volume represents a 5% increase from 2023.

To put that in perspective, almost as much cargo moved through the Port of Vancouver (POV) in 2024 as was handled by Canada’s next five largest ports combined. And significantly, about 80% of the international trade this represents was Canadian trade with countries other than the U.S. The Port of Vancouver handles a most diversified range of cargo, and in 2024 the nations that moved goods through the port were China (46 MMT), Japan (19 MMT) and South Korea (18 MMT). And trade to the U.S. through the port also increased to 7% of total cargo moved (10 MMT).

Leading the way was the bulk sector, with overall volumes increasing 8% to 117.9 MMT in 2024. Coal continues be largest export for bulk volume but it did see a slight dip of 2%, down to 42 MMT shipped. Fertilizers were also down 4% to 12 MMT but exports of both commodities were still considered strong.

Canadian grain shipments saw a modest increase of 1% up to 29 MMT in 2024 reaching near record volumes for grain, as agents, port operators and favourable weather conditions helped Canadian farmers service strong international demand for their crops. While the main grain commodity, wheat, saw a fairly significant drop of 10% in its export volume last year, big increases in both canola and animal feed helped push total grain exports just a little higher than 2023’s plumb year.

Liquid bulk exports saw a massive jump of 123% last year, up to 21.9 MMT. Fueled largely by the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline and Westridge Terminal, exports of petroleum products grew 153% to 19.3 MMT. Meanwhile canola oil exports were up 74% to 0.9 MMT.

A record of 468,759 vehicles were handled by our auto terminals in 2024, as imports through the port helped meet strong Canadian consumer demand for new vehicles. Nearly 100% of Canada’s Asian-manufactured vehicle imports arrive via the Port of Vancouver, with recent work to optimize the Annacis Auto Terminal increasing capacity by one-third.

Container volumes at the Port of Vancouver increased 11% to 3.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units, or TEU. Imports (laden inbound) increased 14% to 1.8 million TEU, while exports (laden outbound) increased 5% to 794,724 TEU. Empty containers increased 11% to 857,343 TEU.

For full list of all the statistics, please see here.