B.C. nurses prepare for job action as strike deadline looms

A hospital worker walks past the entrance to the Vancouver General Hospital in Vancouver, B.C., on Tuesday, May 12, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

The president of the BC Nurses Union says there is little hope of reaching a deal with its employer before a strike deadline comes at noon Thursday, signalling the start of provincewide job action. 

Adriane Gear says the union hasn’t had formal negotiations with the Health Employers Association of B.C. since May, and nurses are preparing for overtime restrictions and a ban on non-nursing duties when the deadline passes. 

“As time is ticking on, we’re not hopeful that we’re going to have any meaningful response,” Gear said in an interview Thursday. 

The union, which represents 60,000 British Columbia nurses, issued 72-hour strike notice on Monday after its members voted to reject a tentative contract deal bargained with the provincial health employer in May.

Gear said the union doesn’t plan to withdraw workers in the first phase of its job action, but it will stop doing non-essential tasks like answering phones, processing doctors’ orders and cleaning. 

“We will be in a position where we can legally withdraw labour while maintaining essential service levels. But that’s not something that we are going to do today,” she said. 

Gear said the job action is designed to put pressure on the employer and not patients and will not affect essential services. 

“Could there be some disruption? There could be, but our hope is to minimize that,” she said. 

Gear added that the lack of an agreement has created uncertainty for patients, but she hopes British Columbians can understand and support nurses in the meantime.   

“We’ve been there for our patients and we hope that the public will be there for us right now. We need your support,” Gear said. 

She said the union is ready to return to the bargaining table at a moment’s notice but doesn’t expect much to change before the deadline. 

The tentative agreement rejected by union members offered a 12-per-cent wage increase over four years and other improved benefits. 

The union said the rejection was a message from nurses about the frustration they feel over the pressures on their profession and the health-care system. 

Gear has said those pressures include staffing shortages, unmanageable workloads and workplace violence.

This report by Marissa Birnie, The Canadian Press, was first published July 2, 2026.