BC Ferries sailings from Tsawwassen to Victoria, Nanaimo sold out for Thursday
All daily ferry departures from Tsawwassen to Victoria and Nanaimo were sold out by early Thursday afternoon as a rush of travellers headed for Vancouver Island before the B.C. Day long weekend.
BC Ferries announced the remaining sailings from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay and Duke Point were full by 3:45 p.m., meaning only passengers with reservations were being given boarding passes.
The company suggested island-bound travellers who don't have a booking head to Horseshoe Bay and try to board a ferry to Departure Bay, but noted that "limited standby space" was available by mid-afternoon.
"I know there's some customers that are unhappy with the situation right now, but it is the busiest weekend of the year," spokesperson Deborah Marshall told CTV News.
Marshall also noted that BC Ferries had been warning travellers for days that they should consider travelling outside of peak periods this long weekend.
The company said Thursday afternoon, Friday afternoon and Saturday morning are generally the busiest travel times of the B.C. Day weekend.
But selling out every available departure before 4 p.m. – including six sailings to Victoria alone – is an extremely rare occurrence.
Marshall said the company attempted to arrange another sailing from the mainland to the island for Thursday night, but was unable to do so.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
For the first time in report's history, Canada's air quality worse than U.S.
Air quality in Canada is now worse than in the U.S., according to the 6th Annual World Air Quality Report. Of the 15 most polluted cities in the two countries, 14 were in Canada.
A newspaper says video of Prince William and Kate should halt royal rumour mill. That's a tall order
Prince William and his wife Catherine have been filmed at a farm shop near their Windsor home, The Sun newspaper reported -- the first footage of Kate since she had abdominal surgery for an unspecified condition two months ago.
WATCH LIVE As former prime minister Mulroney lies in state, public tributes in Ottawa begin
Members of the public who wish to pay tribute to Brian Mulroney can visit his casket in Ottawa starting this afternoon.
BREAKING Roy McMurtry, former Ontario attorney general, dies at 91
CTV News has confirmed that former Ontario attorney general Roy McMurtry has died.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
'You ask for your money, they disappear': Ontario man loses $17K to AI crypto scam
A Toronto man is spreading the word of a cryptocurrency scam that lures victims using AI-generated news sites after he lost $17,000 in investments.
Images taken deep inside melted Fukushima reactor show damage, but leave many questions unanswered
Images taken by miniature drones from deep inside a badly damaged reactor at the Fukushima nuclear plant show displaced control equipment and misshapen materials but leave many questions unanswered, underscoring the daunting task of decommissioning the plant.
DEVELOPING February inflation rate slows to 2.8% as price growth unexpectedly eases
Canada's annual inflation rate unexpectedly fell to 2.8 per cent last month, amid sharp declines in cellular and internet services as well as slower grocery price growth.
High thoughts: The habits of Canadian cannabis users are revealed in a new StatCan report
Statistics Canada has conducted a series of surveys to measure the impacts of legalized cannabis since the Cannabis Act took effect in 2018. The latest one, the 2023 National Cannabis Survey, sheds light on users' preferences and habits last year.