B.C. nurses issue 72-hour strike notice after rejecting contract deal

A hospital worker walks past the entrance to the Vancouver General Hospital in Vancouver, B.C., on Tuesday, May 12, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

The British Columbia Nurses Union has issued a 72-hour strike notice just weeks after its members voted to reject a tentative contract offer.

The union represents 60,000 nurses and says the action signals growing frustration by its members with the pressures facing their profession and the health-care system.

Union president Adriane Gear says the nurses will be in a legal position to strike on Thursday if no progress is made in negotiations.

Gear says the strike notice is a demand for nurses to be heard and valued, as they are facing increasing safety and burnout issues.

She says job action could be anything from an overtime ban to a large-scale withdrawal of services, excluding those that have already been designated as essential.

Nurses voted 67 per cent to reject the contract negotiated by its union leadership, but Jim Gould, the union’s chief negotiator, says in a statement that nurses have reached a point where they want to shine a light on crowded hospitals and understaffed facilities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 29, 2026.