B.C. government restarts planning for Burnaby Hospital expansion

VICTORIA — The provincial 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 instead of just one large project, as previously planned.

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 community concerns the project was being cancelled outright when the government 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,” Ma says.

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 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.