BC NDP Leader David Eby signed a public health-care guarantee on Oct. 12, 2026, saying he will protect public health care and oppose a U.S.-style privatized system.
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BC NDP Leader David Eby signed a public health-care guarantee at a press conference on Oct. 12, 2026, during Thanksgiving, pledging to protect B.C.’s health-care system and oppose what he described as a U.S.-style privatized, pay-your-way model.
Eby said, “If elected, I will protect public health care in B.C. and oppose the U.S.-style privatized pay-your-way system that Conservatives are implementing in Alberta.” He added that the promise reflects a system that, “It doesn’t matter how much money you have,” and “It doesn’t matter who you are. If you are sick and you need care, you will get that care.”
Eby contrasted his guarantee with what he said BC Conservatives cannot make, pointing to Anna Kindy as a health minister consideration and describing her as “a very public advocate” for private health care, while saying she is not an advocate of vaccination.
BC Conservatives responded by saying they are committed to keeping B.C.’s health-care system universal and publicly funded, and they accused Eby of “tired health-care fearmongering.” Interim BC Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson has previously criticized the current system, saying, “We are living in a time when we can put men and women on a moon. But we can’t keep a hospital open in Merritt?” He added that “Something is fundamentally wrong with a system that allows this to continue to happen, week after week, in this province.”
BC Greens also said they oppose any attempt to privatize health care, citing that the BC NDP government has provided “millions of dollars” in funding for private nursing agencies aimed at addressing nursing shortages.
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