Promised, Funded, Then Cancelled: How the NDP Betrayed Fraser Health

There's a phrase the BC NDP government uses when it kills a project it previously promised to build. It doesn't say cancelled. It says "re-paced."

The communities in Burnaby and Delta know what "re-paced" actually means. It means the hospital redevelopment you were counting on isn't coming. It means the long-term care beds your neighbours fundraised $20 million for aren't getting built. It means the minister who stood in the Legislature and told elected members these projects were proceeding was either misinformed — or not telling the truth.

The Burnaby Hospital Betrayal

A letter to Burnaby Hospital staff confirmed that the Alliance contract for the Burnaby Hospital Redevelopment has been cancelled. This directly contradicts statements made by the Finance Minister in the Legislature, where she assured members that critical healthcare infrastructure projects would not be cut.

"The Minister stood in this House and told British Columbians these projects wouldn't be cancelled," said Misty Van Popta, MLA for Langley-Walnut Grove and Infrastructure Critic. "Now, they're calling it 're-pacing'. Try telling that to the construction workers who lost their contracts or the patients in Burnaby who are waiting for cancer care."

Cancer care. In Burnaby. Cancelled. By a government that has run three straight deficits exceeding $10 billion.

Delta's $35 Million Broken Promise

The story in Delta is arguably worse. The Beedie Long-Term Care Centre — a badly needed facility for seniors — was cancelled by the NDP despite $15 million in taxpayer dollars already spent and nearly $20 million raised by the community. The cancellation prompted residents, doctors, and municipal leaders to stage a rally at the stalled construction site.

These are people who trusted the government's word. They fundraised. They showed up. They did everything right. The government didn't.

Fraser Health: 40% of BC, 22% of the Money

None of this happened in a vacuum. Fraser Health serves 40% of British Columbia's population — the fastest-growing region in the province — yet receives only 22% of provincial health funding. Half of all cancelled infrastructure projects in BC are concentrated in that single health authority.

This isn't a coincidence. It's a pattern. For years, Fraser Health has been chronically underfunded relative to the population it serves. The communities east and south of Vancouver — working-class, suburban, growing — have been systematically deprioritized while the government books record deficits and claims it's protecting "vital front-line services."

A $13 Billion Deficit and Still No Hospitals

Budget 2026 projected a $13.3 billion deficit — the largest in BC history. It included 15,000 public sector job cuts over three years. Finance Minister Brenda Bailey's budget alienated virtually every stakeholder it touched, from taxpayer advocates to public service unions to healthcare providers.

And yet, somehow, the Burnaby Hospital still got cancelled. The Delta long-term care centre still got cancelled. The government found $13 billion in new debt but couldn't find the money to honour commitments made to communities that had already done their part.

"This isn't a fiscal strategy," Van Popta said. "It's Fraser Health getting shortchanged again while the government books a $13 billion deficit and tells people to be patient."

Patience is a reasonable request. Breaking promises to cancer patients and seniors while running record deficits is not a reasonable trade-off. British Columbians are beginning to understand the difference — a Leger poll this month found that 54% of British Columbians believe the province is headed in the wrong direction.

The construction workers who lost contracts know it. The seniors waiting for long-term care beds know it. The families in Burnaby waiting for cancer care know it.

The NDP is betting they'll forget. They usually do. But this time, there's a stalled construction site in Delta that says otherwise.