B.C. teachers ratify new four-year agreement for 3% annual wage boost

Children walk with their parents to Sherwood Park Elementary in North Vancouver for their first day back-to-school on September 10, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

British Columbia’s teachers’ union says its members have ratified a new four-year collective agreement, covering 52,000 educators in the province.

The B.C. Teachers’ Federation said in a statement released Thursday that its members voted 91 per cent in favour of the agreement that gives them a three per cent wage increase in each of the four years.

The union said the contract follows a year of negotiations where it raised priorities such as improved classroom conditions, stronger mental health supports for children and plans to recruit and retain teachers.

BCTF president Carole Gordon said the agreement includes commitments to add counsellors, learning-assistance teachers and special education resource teachers in schools across the province.

“This is a modest step forward, and our students deserve so much more. Our classrooms are increasingly complex, and investment needs to keep up,” Gordon said in a news release.

The deal also includes added preparation time for elementary school teachers and special allowances for psychologists, Indigenous language teachers and for those teaching in rural and remote schools.

In a statement Thursday, the Ministry of Finance said the agreement was based on the government’s balanced measures mandate, a negotiating framework meant to support government priorities and strengthen B.C.’s public sector.

The deal “includes some additional funding to recognize commitments that provide supports to classrooms, … as well as other measures that address teacher workloads,” the statement said.

The ministry said B.C.’s 60 education boards are expected to vote on the agreement on Friday.

Gordon said the union will continue to advocate for better classroom conditions and more time, resources, and support for teachers to help their students.

The B.C. Public School Employers’ Association is still in the process of approving ratification among its members and until that is complete the final agreement will not be released publicly, the statement said.

If fully ratified, the contract is retroactive to July 1, 2025, and remains in effect until June 30, 2029.

“Voter turnout among BCTF members was 67 per cent,” the statement said.

— With files from Wolfgang Depner in Victoria

This report by Marissa Birnie, The Canadian Press, was first published March 5, 2026.