B.C. government restarts planning for Burnaby Hospital expansion

VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is resuscitating the Burnaby Hospital expansion, a project that had been put on hold because of budget pressures.

Infrastructure Minister Bowinn Ma says planning for the redevelopment has resumed and it will now proceed in three steps rather than as one large project.

The expansion was one of nine capital projects that were previously paused.

Ma says $210 million will go toward an immediate upgrade of the hospital’s emergency department and surgical unit, followed by a phased expansion of cancer care services and new acute care services.

There were concerns the project was being cancelled outright when the province announced what it called the re-pacing of the hospital expansion in this year’s budget.

Ma says that was never going to be case, but acknowledges the move made some in Burnaby anxious.

“I know it was extremely difficult news for the people in Burnaby, B.C., including our local MLAs here,” she told a news conference.

She says her ministry, the Health Ministry and officials with Fraser Health have used the temporary pause to get the project back on the rails. 

The Hospital Employees’ Union welcomed the news, with spokeswoman Lynn Bueckert saying staff in Burnaby have been “carrying extraordinary pressure.”

Still, Bueckert said in a statement that hospital capacity is intertwined with long-term care. 

“If seniors cannot be discharged safely into appropriate long-term care, the pressure does not disappear — it lands on hospitals, workers and families.”

The union says the province should match its renewed commitment to Burnaby Hospital by moving ahead with delayed or cancelled long-term care projects.

The province’s announcement comes amid speculation of a snap election, but Ma did not directly answer when asked about the prospects of an early election call. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2026.