The BC Conservatives released a health-care plan Monday that would hold funding at the level set in the 2026 budget, put $50 million toward rural clinics, and set a target of reversing avoidable emergency room and maternity ward closures.
The party says 1.2 million British Columbians, about one in five, still do not have a family doctor, and that the wait from referral to specialist treatment reached 32.2 weeks in 2025, the longest since measurement began in 1993.
They also cited nearly 2,400 temporary emergency-room closures between 2023 and 2025, and almost 142,000 patients who left an emergency department without being treated in 2024.
BC Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson unveils his party’s health care plan, pledging to fully fund health care first in every provincial budget:
— Sitka Media (@sitkamedia) October 5, 2026
“We will reverse ER and maternity closures and increase rural health care access we will create a $50 million emergency fund for rural… pic.twitter.com/yFNSYPm3uU
Speaking in 100 Mile House, Leader Lorne Doerkson said healthcare funding would be at the levels approved in the 2026 BC Budget, adding his government would not consider user fees for public care.
He went on to note that a BC Conservative government would set expectations for essential services in rural and regional communities and add flexible staffing to limit closures. The $50 million fund would be available to rural medical practices for financial help to prevent a closure or to aid recruitment.
BC Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson says his party would focus on recruiting more doctors and improving credential recognition as part of its health care plan:
— Sitka Media (@sitkamedia) October 5, 2026
“We have to do everything we can to encourage doctors to come here.”#bcpoli #bcelxn26 pic.twitter.com/SExsyfDw1l
On the workforce, the plan would remove barriers for Canadians who trained at medical schools abroad, add doctor and nurse training and residency seats, speed international credential decisions, and make it easier for health professionals elsewhere in Canada to move to BC.
It also proposes incentives for child care in or near hospitals. The party cites a Montreal Economic Institute finding that nearly a third of BC nurses leave the profession before age 35.
Within 100 days, a Conservative government would appoint an expert panel, including health professionals, to recommend practices from other universal, publicly funded systems. The review would cover wait times, open emergency rooms and maternity wards, rural care, recruitment and system capacity.
