Baby new year: B.C.’s 1st child of 2026 born in Kelowna

It was a momentous New Year’s Day for one B.C. family, who welcomed the province’s first baby of 2026 shortly after midnight Thursday.

B.C.’s first baby of 2026 was born at 12:18 a.m. at Kelowna General Hospital, the provincial government announced Thursday morning.

In a brief post on social media, the province said the child weighed six pounds, eight ounces.

“Congratulations to the family, and Happy New Year to all,” the post reads.

The province did not share the child’s name or sex, and the family has declined to speak to the media, according to Interior Health.

A spokesperson for Fraser Health says the first baby in that region was born at 12:53 a.m. at Ridge Meadows Hospital.

Vancouver Coastal Health says its first baby of the year arrived at 1:30 a.m. in the Richmond Birth Centre to parents Haruna and Jian Suzuki. The baby boy weighed in at seven pounds, 11 ounces.

Northern Health says the first baby in northern British Columbia was baby girl Molina, who was born at 2:25 a.m at Ksyen Regional Hospital in Terrace, weighing seven pounds and nine ounces, to parents Chantel Johnson and Robert Good.

Island Health says the first baby born on Vancouver Island in 2026 was baby boy Sahit Prata, who weighed three pounds and one ounce, when he arrived at Victoria General Hospital at 3:48 a.m.

In 2025, nearly 41,700 babies were registered as born in B.C. The province expects approximately 40,000 more to be born this year.

With files from The Canadian Press