Carney’s Fast-Track Promises Under Gunn Fire Over Salmon Farming in B.C.

Prime Minister Mark Carney promises faster decisions to strengthen Canada, but his government still has no answers for B.C’s salmon farming sector, leaving thousands of jobs, hundreds of businesses and aquaculture-dependent First Nations in limbo.

By Fabian Dawson
SeaWestNews

Prime Minister Mark Carney is promising to move Canada forward at unprecedented speed, cut regulatory delays and give businesses the certainty they need to invest, create jobs and strengthen the economy.

But for British Columbia’s salmon farmers, his government’s much-publicized urgency appears to have come to a grinding halt.

More than a year after Ottawa promised to release a plan determining the future of ocean salmon farming on Canada’s West Coast, federal officials still cannot say when a decision will be made.

The latest evidence of the government’s paralysis emerged during questioning yesterday at the House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans (FOPO) where Conservative MP Aaron Gunn pressed federal officials for answers about a policy that threatens to eliminate over 4,500 jobs in B.C.

Gunn, whose North Island-Powell River riding includes communities heavily dependent on salmon farming, asked why workers and businesses were still waiting for a decision promised in 2025.

The policy dates back to June 2024, when Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government, under pressure from anti-salmon farming activists, announced plans to end conventional ocean salmon farming in B.C. by June 30, 2029.

The decision came despite federal scientific assessments finding that risks from salmon farms to wild Pacific salmon were minimal. It also left the industry without a clear, workable transition plan or assurances about its future.

Carney inherited the controversial policy when he became prime minister, along with growing demands from salmon farmers, fisheries scientists, business associations coastal communities and First Nations partners to reconsider the ban.

  In August 2025, Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson told SeaWestNews that the long-awaited transition report was in its “final stages” and would be released “very shortly.”

“So that was back in 2025 . It’s now almost 2027. It was also inferred that there would be an announcement in May, in June, in July and in August. It is now November. There is still no update, no clarity, no assurances to all the people that that work in this industry,” said Gunn.

“When can it realistically be expected?” Gunn asked Kate Ladell, director general of Ecosystems and Biodiversity Management at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), who offered little reassurance.

“I’m not in a position to give you an update beyond what I’ve already stated, but happy to get back to you in writing,” she said.

Gunn also asked whether Ottawa was taking into account the election of a new Conservative government in British Columbia, that has pledged support for responsible, sustainable aquaculture.

Again, there was no substantive answer from Ladell.

For a food sector approaching a federal shutdown deadline, the exchange exposed a widening gap between the prime minister’s vow to make faster decisions and predictable regulations central to his government’s economic agenda.

The stakes of Ottawa’s failure to provide a clear answer are growing by the day, as salmon farming companies face critical investment and production decisions that could determine whether the industry survives, states the B.C. Salmon Farmers Association (BCSFA).

Industry economic estimates put B.C. salmon farming’s annual contribution at approximately $1.17 billion, supporting 4,560 full-time jobs, including more than 1,000 Indigenous workers.

Every remaining ocean salmon farm operates under an agreement with the Rights Holder First Nation in whose territory it is located. Those partnerships generate an estimated $134 million annually in direct economic benefits for Indigenous communities.

The delay is particularly damaging because salmon farming cannot simply be switched on and off according to political announcements stated the BCSFA.

Companies operate on production cycles that can extend three years from the purchase of eggs to the harvesting of market-ready fish. Decisions on broodstock, hatchery production, marine equipment, feed contracts and staffing must be made years before the finished salmon reaches consumers.

With the June 2029 deadline approaching, companies are already facing decisions about whether to invest millions of dollars in fish that may never be allowed to reach harvest.

The damage from the Trudeau-era policy and the Carney government’s indecision is already evident.

Industry figures show B.C. salmon production has fallen from approximately 90,000 tonnes annually to about 55,000 tonnes, with roughly 1,500 jobs lost following federal decisions that closed farms in the Discovery Islands, Broughton Archipelago and other coastal areas.

At the same timeCanadian consumers and businesses have become increasingly reliant on imported salmon. Federal trade figures show Canada imported more than $1 billion worth of salmon in 2025, including $41.1 million shipped from China.

Industry projections suggest that with regulatory certainty, the sector could expand to $2.5 billion in annual economic activity, contribute $930 million to GDP and support approximately 9,000 jobs by 2030.

The uncertainty has also frustrated municipal leaders.

Campbell River Mayor Kermit Dahl, chair of the Alliance of Resource Communities, told SeaWestNews in September that he understood a decision on the future of ocean salmon farming in B.C. had already been made and was awaiting release.

“We have been told several times now that the decision has been made and it is sitting on the PM’s desk,” Dahl said.

“I don’t know what the delay is. The PM needs to get it done.”

Main file image shows Conservative MP Aaron Gunn (R) at a meeting of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans. On his right is MP Clifford Small.