Seniors and rural health networks react to B.C. Budget 2026

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The British Columbia Rural Health Network (BCRHN) and a seniors community organization have expressed frustrations at the B.C. Budget 2026. 

B.C.’s finance minister, Brenda Bailey introduced her first budget on February 17th which included delays in construction to several long-term care facilities – one of which is in Fort St. John. 

In addition to the facility in Fort St. John, several other long-term projects are to be delayed in 2026 budget including ones in Campbell River, Abbotsford, Delta, Chilliwack, Cottonwoods and Squamish. 

According to the budget document which outlined the service plan for the Ministry of Infrastructure for 2026/2027 – 2028/2029, the completion date of several long-term care facilities is yet to be determined. 

Margaret Little, president of Save Our Northern Seniors (SONS), called the announcement “devastating”. 

She told Energeticcity.ca: “We have worked long and hard to get the third [long-term care] house and when it was announced in the last year, we were ecstatic.

“It meant that those people who are in the hospital waiting to get into the care home would be able to get in sooner.” 

SONS have gathered statistics over the years and Little alleged the numbers have not gone down. 

“There are 15 sitting in the hospital waiting to get into the care home and that number is not dropping because the community waitlist is 59,” Little said.

“After canceling the third house, which I’m assuming will be a long time before we get it, it is going to be really difficult for people in the community.” 

She feels that this will impact everybody. 

“It impacts the emergency [department], it impacts the hospital. The people who are in need of care right away and families will have to pick up the slack, but there is no slack for people to pick up,” she said. 

According to a post by BCRN titled Budget 2026 and Rural Realities by Paul Adams, the budget will “leave many elders and seniors without the support they need most.” 

The post said that rural communities are aging faster, dementia prevalence is increasing and families need stronger local support now.

“We do not see sufficient rural-focused action on long-term care capacity, home support expansion, caregiver relief, and local dementia-capable services,” the post reads. 

Many rural and remote communities have higher than the provincial average median age, it said. 

“In many communities that average is significantly higher than urban and suburban communities,” it said. “Rural communities offer far fewer services for this population and many residents must leave their communities to get care.” 

It shared that long-term care and closer-to-home programs are not available within many rural communities. If programs are available, care provision needs to be imported. 

The post highlights that there is an estimated shortage of over 3,000 long-term care beds and anticipates a shortage of over 16,000 within 10 years. 

In the post, Dan Levitt, B.C. senior advocate, said: “Putting off those projects for the future will only make them more expensive, as the cost of building will be more expensive then.”

The ministry of finance has stated that “significant and unsustainable costs” are the reason for the delay in long-term care homes. 

The post said: “We agree that the costs of building large scale, urban models of LTC (long-term care) are not only unsustainable but also impractical in accommodating the needs of rural residents and their families.” 

The health network said it has promoted small-scale care homes, which it says offers a more practical alternative. 

“Communities can build them more affordably, convert suitable existing housing, and scale capacity up or down as needs change,” the post said, alleging that one health authority has recognised small-scale homes as a better approach.