Moving forward on renewed plan to redevelop Burnaby Hospital

Photo (L-R):Anne Kang, MLA for Burnaby Centre and Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport; Bowinn Ma, Minister of Infrastructure; Laurie Leith, Vice President, Integrated Health Services, North, Fraser Health; Dr. Rebecca Nelson, President, Burnaby Hospital Medical Staff Association, Surgeon.

Summary

__________

The Burnaby Hospital Project is moving forward with a renewed plan that will deliver improved health care services to people in Burnaby and surrounding communities.

Improvements to emergency services and surgical care are going ahead immediately, with expanded cancer care and additional acute-care services to follow, as the Province moves forward with its commitment to transform Burnaby Hospital.

"People in Burnaby have been clear about how important this hospital is to them, and they deserve care that's timely, reliable and close to home," said Bowinn Ma, Minister of Infrastructure. "By changing how we deliver improvements to the hospital, we're able to get the project back on track and move forward on our commitment to the people of Burnaby. I want to thank the community and our partners for their patience as we worked to renew the plan and chart a path forward for this important project."

The project builds on the improvements delivered through Phase 1 of the Burnaby Hospital redevelopment, continuing the modernization of Burnaby Hospital to better serve patients, families and health care workers.

Phase 1, which opened in early 2026, delivered a new six-storey health-care pavilion with 83 beds, including new maternity, neonatal intensive care, mental-health and medical units. It also expanded capacity for the support facilities building, including new emergency department areas, six operating rooms and a new, modern energy centre to ensure the hospital can continue to meet the needs of the growing community.

The next phase is moving forward with $210 million from the Province to improve and expand the emergency department and surgical unit at the Burnaby Hospital. The Province is also advancing plans for further improvements to the hospital, including expanding access to cancer care and increasing patient care capacity in a new acute-care tower for people in Burnaby and the surrounding communities.

As part of Budget 2026, the timeline for the Burnaby Hospital redevelopment project was adjusted to address rising costs. Updated preliminary cost estimates based on detailed design work showed the redevelopment was significantly over budget. As part of the work to reduce cost pressures, the project board commissioned an independent report, which provided 25 recommendations and guidance about how to deliver the project within budget and scope.

"Burnaby residents deserve access to the health-care services they need, where and when they need it," said Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Health. "Work on the improvements to the emergency department and surgical unit will begin immediately while planning continues on additional acute and cancer care services."

Emergency department improvements

The expanded emergency department will be in the support facilities building and includes:

• A combined waiting and patient check-in area
• A new decontamination zone and ambulance entry
• 16 additional treatment spaces
• Additional support areas with separate pathways for patients and staff
• Upgraded mechanical, electrical and information management and information technology systems

Surgical upgrades

The expanded and renewed surgical department will also be in the supportive facilities building and includes:

• Four upgraded operating rooms, combined with six new operating rooms, which opened in early 2026, for a total of 10 standardized operating rooms featuring flexible, universally designed layout and surgical technology
• An integrated sterile core serving 10 operating rooms
• Four minor procedure rooms
• 42 renovated perioperative preparation and recovery bays, an increase of 17 bays
• Expanded support areas with separate pathways for patients and staff

The improvements will begin immediately, with initial procurement completed in early 2027, followed by detailed design and construction. The improvements will support more coordinated care for patients while giving health-care workers modern spaces designed around the way care is delivered.

"People in Burnaby and surrounding communities deserve timely access to the emergency and surgical care they need, close to home," said Dermot Kelly, president and CEO, Fraser Heath. "This investment builds on the transformation already underway at Burnaby Hospital, following the opening of the new health-care pavilion and expanded support facilities earlier this year. Together, these investments are creating a more modern hospital and expanding our capacity to meet the growing needs of this community for years to come."

Supporting health care in Burnaby

This project builds on nearly $732 million to improve access to health care services in Burnaby, including:

• The new health-care pavilion and the expanded support services building at Burnaby Hospital, which opened on March 10, 2026
• The MRI refurbishment project, which will improve the hospital's existing MRI and advanced diagnostic imaging systems to improve scan speeds, image clarity and patient comfort, set to be completed in March 2027
• A second CT Scanner at Burnaby Hospital, which was brought into service in June 2023
• Renovations to the emergency department mental-health and substance-use and community health services department, which were completed in 2020
• Opening two new urgent and primary care centres, in the Metrotown area in 2022 and the Edmonds neighbourhood in 2019

This project is part of the Province's work to improve and expand health care services for people in Burnaby and throughout B.C.

Learn more:

• For more information about Burnaby Hospital, visit: https://www.fraserhealth.ca/Service-Directory/Locations/Burnaby/burnaby-hospital
• For more information about health-infrastructure projects in B.C., visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/accessing-health-care/capital-projects

A backgrounder follows.

What people are saying about the renewed plan

Rohini Arora, MLA for Burnaby-East —

"This is a welcome next step in building a bigger, better hospital that will support families living in Burnaby and surrounding communities for many years to come. The expanded and modernized emergency and surgical departments will address critical needs sooner as work continues to deliver improvements to cancer care and the new tower."

Paul Choi, MLA for Burnaby South-Metrotown —

"Families deserve access to modern, high-quality care close to home, and I'm so glad we're moving forward on Phase 2 of the Burnaby Hospital redevelopment now. The improvements to the emergency and surgical departments will make it easier for more community members to get the care they need in the community they know and love."

Anne Kang, MLA for Burnaby Centre —

"As a long-time resident of Burnaby, I want to emphasize how important this next step is. These improvements will expand access to essential care closer to home, strengthen emergency services and increase support for parents and families. We know there's more needed to deliver the health care services people in Burnaby need, and we're committed to doing that work together."

Janet Routledge, MLA for Burnaby North —

"I'm very glad we're now moving forward on plans to improve emergency and surgical care at Burnaby Hospital. These improvements will help Burnaby Hospital keep pace with the growing needs of our community for many years to come."

Raj Chouhan, MLA for Burnaby-New Westminster —

"Families in Burnaby and New Westminster rely on this hospital during some of the most difficult moments in their lives. Expanding emergency and surgical services means people will get faster care in modern, purpose-built spaces. This is an important step in ensuring our hospital continues to meet the needs of this growing, diverse community."