Ontario Construction News staff writer
The British Columbia government has cancelled construction contracts for a major hospital redevelopment and several long-term care facilities, as budget pressures force the province to reassess how it delivers large capital projects.
Affected projects include Phase 2 of the Burnaby Hospital redevelopment, and long-term care homes planned in Chilliwack, Abbotsford, Kelowna and Delta.
The government had said in a February budget that timelines for some long-term care projects would be “revised,” but did not disclose at the time that existing pre-construction contracts would be terminated.
Phase 2 of the Burnaby Hospital redevelopment was awarded in June 2024 through an alliance model led by PCL Constructors Westcoast Inc. and Parkin Architects Western Ltd., working in partnership with Fraser Health and the Province of British Columbia.
Phase 2 is the largest component of the overall redevelopment with a budget of $1.7 billion, funded by the Province of B.C., the Burnaby Hospital Foundation and the BC Cancer Foundation. The scope of work includes the new Keith and Betty Beedie Acute Care Tower, the BC Cancer–Burnaby McCarthy Centre, and significant upgrades to the emergency department, medical imaging and support services.
Earlier enabling work on the site was completed under separate contracts, including Phase 1 construction delivered by EllisDon, which established initial hospital infrastructure ahead of the major expansion.
Infrastructure Minister Bowinn Ma says the decision reflects efforts to bring costs under control as the province works with health authorities to reassess project delivery timelines and budgets.
“There is more work for our government to do with health authorities to get costs down and under budget so that we can deliver them sustainably for communities,” Ma said in the Legislature, adding some contracts were entered into in anticipation of moving ahead on earlier timelines, but are no longer aligned with revised delivery plans.
In most cases, cancelled agreements involved pre-construction work such as design and engineering. The Infrastructure Ministry said continuing under the previous scope would have pushed costs per long-term care bed to “unsustainable levels.”
All projects will remain in the provincial capital plan, with officials maintaining they are intended to proceed at a later stage under revised frameworks.
Phase 1 of the Burnaby Hospital project added just 12 beds to a facility originally built in the 1950s, while Phase 2 included a 160-bed acute care tower, a B.C. Cancer centre, and expanded medical imaging services.
