Community voices frustration as Burnaby hospital expansion project is put on hold

The first phase of the redevelopment of the Burnaby Hospital is seen under construction, in Burnaby, B.C., on Monday, July 8, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Dozens of protesters carrying placards gathered in a park in Burnaby, B.C., to rally against the provincial government’s cancellation of a construction contract for a hospital expansion in the city.

At Avondale Park in Burnaby, about two minutes drive from the hospital, protesters on Sunday held up yellow signs with slogans reading: Burnaby matters.

Premier David Eby said earlier in May that plans for the Burnaby Hospital expansion aren’t dead despite the provincial government’s announcement the contract had been cancelled.

Phase 2 of the hospital expansion project was slated to add 160 beds and a cancer-care centre, but it has become one of several projects the province placed on hold in its 2026 budget.

David Xie, spokesman for Burnaby neighbourhood watch, said despite Burnaby being the third-largest city in B.C., residents don’t have a fully functioning modern hospital, forcing many locals to travel to other cities for their health-care needs.

For instance, Xie, said his family experienced an emergency last year when his son hit his head, which wouldn’t stop bleeding, and the Burnaby Hospital’s waiting time was the longest compared to other hospitals, forcing him to drive to a different city for care.

But Xie said many families in Burnaby don’t have cars, and having more beds can address many local patients’ urgent needs.

“We were really expecting Phase 2 to come help out the community, but right now we’re sitting at 0.58 beds per 1,000 residents,” Xie said.

“We want accountability, we want transparency, we want a start date, we want to know what the province will do to help your residents.”

Allen Chen said he has lived in the city for more than 20 years, and he even donated money to the hospital foundation with hopes the facility could be built as soon as possible to serve local needs.

Chen visited the Burnaby Hospital’s ER two years ago but didn’t feel he was properly helped.

“They couldn’t do much because they don’t have the facilities, so our infrastructure, our Phase 2, is very important,” said Chen.

Infrastructure Minister Bowinn Ma said early in May that the projects on hold were “re-paced or rescheduled” since they needed more work before they could proceed to construction.

Langley-Walnut Grove MLA Misty Van Popta, who is also the shadow critic for infrastructure, said it was recently discovered that the Burnaby project wasn’t only placed on hold, but the province also cancelled all associated contracts.

Popta said Burnaby is one of the lowest-funded hospitals in the province, and the “particular cut to the budget should not have ever taken place.”

The B.C. government announced during the budget in February that it would slow down several health construction projects as it struggled with a deficit projected to balloon to $13.3 billion.

Ma said in a statement on Sunday that she wants to assure people the project remains within the province’s capital plan and will move forward.

“Like other governments across Canada, we are facing fiscal pressures that require careful choices to protect the services people rely on and maintain long term stability,” said Ma.

Ma said although construction will not be proceeding on the originally anticipated timeline, the government is working with Fraser Health, the Provincial Health Services Authority and all project partners to “refresh” plans to make sure they are building “the type of hospital the community needs in a fiscally responsible way.”

Xie said residents deserve to have more clarity on when the project will proceed.

“Because infrastructure projects like this, once you cancel a contractor, the new contractor is going to start from scratch,” said Xie, adding he’s worried more taxpayers’ money will be wasted throughout the process.

Popta said she understands the province’s stance is that the project is being re-paced, not cancelled.

“But re-pacing would indicate that there’s an associated timeline to start, and there isn’t. And so when you cancel contracts and there’s no restart date, you are cancelling a project. It is now back to just being a concept,” said Popta.

This report by Nono Shen, The Canadian Press, was first published May. 24, 2026.