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Record year for cruise brings high passenger numbers to Canada Place terminal at the Port of Vancouver

Anyone visiting Canada Place or nearby areas in downtown Vancouver should prepare for increased crowds and traffic on weekends 

Vancouver, B.C.: High volumes of cruise passengers are expected at and around Canada Place in downtown Vancouver on weekends throughout July, August and September, as the Port of Vancouver is on track for a record number of cruise ship visits in 2023. 

As many as 1.3 million passengers could pass through the Canada Place cruise terminal at the port this season, with a record 331 cruise ship visits scheduled from April and October. This would be the highest number of passengers to ever pass through the cruise terminal in Vancouver in a single year—approximately 10% more than the previous record of 1.1 million passengers set in 2019. 

“All indications are that we are on track for a bumper cruise season in 2023, as tourists and cruise passengers return to the region and the award-winning Canada Place cruise terminal at the Port of Vancouver,” said Mandy Chan, cruise services manager at the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, the federal agency mandated to enable Canada’s trade through the Port of Vancouver. “This means that tourists and locals planning to visit Canada Place or nearby areas over the summer and early fall should plan ahead and prepare for crowds and increased traffic.”  

Between 24,000 and 28,000 cruise passengers are expected to embark and disembark ships berthed at the Canada Place cruise terminal every weekend (Saturday and Sunday combined) until the end of September. In July, August and September, as many as 13 single days could land within the top-20 busiest days for passenger volumes at the Canada Place cruise terminal. 

Most cruise ship passenger arrivals and departures take place between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., which is when people can expect higher than normal pedestrian and vehicle traffic volumes in the downtown core and increased demand for taxis and public transportation. 

On these peak cruise days, the Vancouver Police traffic authority will be managing traffic and pedestrian flows at nearby crosswalks, and the port authority will have additional staff on site to help with passenger enquiries.  

Vancouver is a homeport for the popular Vancouver-Alaska cruise itinerary, offering both one-way and roundtrips to Alaska through Canada’s Inside Passage. As a homeport, Canada Place cruise terminal is the point of origin where cruise line itineraries start and end, and where ships are serviced and provisioned. 

Each cruise ship visit in Vancouver generates about $3 million in direct activity to the local economy. 

View the Port of Vancouver’s 2023 cruise ship schedule. 

Media contact 

Alex Munro   

Media relations advisor   

604.340.8617   

[email protected]   

About the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority and the Port of Vancouver    

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority is the federal agency responsible for the shared stewardship of the Port of Vancouver. Like all Canada Port Authorities, we are accountable to the federal minister of transport, and operate pursuant to the Canada Marine Act with a mandate to enable Canada’s trade through the Port of Vancouver, while protecting the environment and considering local communities. The port authority is structured as a non-share corporation, is financially self-sufficient and does not rely on tax dollars for operations. Our revenues come from port terminals and tenants who lease port lands, and from port users who pay various fees such as harbour dues. Profits are reinvested in port infrastructure. The port authority oversees the use of port land and water, which includes more than 16,000 hectares of water, over 1,500 hectares of land, and approximately 350 kilometres of shoreline. Located on the southwest coast of British Columbia in Canada, the Port of Vancouver extends from Roberts Bank and the Fraser River up to and including Burrard Inlet, bordering 16 municipalities and intersecting the traditional territories and treaty lands of more than 35 Coast Salish Indigenous groups. The Port of Vancouver is Canada’s largest port, and the third largest in North America by tonnes of cargo. Enabling the trade of approximately $305 billion in goods with more than 170 world economies, port activities sustain 115,300 jobs, $7 billion in wages, and $11.9 billion in GDP across Canada.   

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