Nurses close the curtains of a patients room in the Intensive Care Unit at Surrey Memorial Hospital in Surrey, B.C., Friday, June 4, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

By The Canadian Press

B.C. nurses union votes overwhelmingly in favour of strike action

May 12, 2026 | 10:22 AM

VANCOUVER — The British Columbia Nurses Union has voted 98.2 per cent in favour of strike action.

More than 50,000 of the approximately 55,000 union members voted after talks reached an impasse in April over issues including benefits, pay and staffing shortages.

BCNU president Adriane Gear said Tuesday as she announced the strike vote that the union had been met by an “employer who has refused to offer any substantive contract improvements or commit to the compensation and funding made available in other public sector contracts.”

“Nurses are a critical part of the health care system, ” she said. “Why should we accept less?”

Gear said their “next move is to get back to the table.”

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The last agreement between the union and the province expired in March 2025.

The vote doesn’t “mean nurses are going on strike tomorrow,” but Gear said it demonstrates that they are united more than ever and prepared to do what it takes to get a fair contract.

Gear said they are “ready to fight” for an agreement that values and respects them and strengthens public health care.

The union has said there’s an increasing burden on its nurses, with about 4,500 vacant positions that can’t be filled.

B.C. nurses union votes overwhelmingly in favour of strike action

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