B.C. budget delays care homes, hospital and cancer facility, student housing

VICTORIA — British Columbia’s budget is hurting the young, the old and cancer patients alike as government construction undergoes what the government says is a “re-pacing” to address fiscal pressures.

There are delays to seven long-term care projects from Abbotsford to Fort St. John, as well as the second phase of Burnaby Hospital and Cancer Centre, and student housing at the University of Victoria.

Seniors Advocate Dan Levitt said Tuesday that the delays will put immediate pressure on the health-care system and make B.C. fall further behind on providing long-term care beds.

“It’s going to put pressure on the hospitals, putting pressure on emergency rooms and on people spending too much time in acute care when they don’t need that acute care bed,” he said.

The government said in a briefing note at Tuesday’s 2026 budget that the delays “incorporate the lessons learned from projects already underway.”

Levitt said B.C. needs about 2,000 beds being built every year to hit the approximately 16,000 that will be needed in the next decade.

“So, it just pushes a problem down, but it puts the pressure on the family caregivers,” he said.

The budget tabled by Finance Minister Brenda Bailey on Tuesday includes decreases in capital spending to $18.7 billion in 2026 — down from a forecast of $20.4 billion in the previous budget — then declining further to $16.1 billion by 2028.

Bailey said the delays to the plans, which the government framed as being re-paced, refreshed and re-sequenced, will prevent the government competing with itself for resources such as steel to reduce costs.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 17, 2026.

Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press