B.C. capital plan downshifted, but megaprojects still dominate pipeline

Key Takeaways:

• B.C. is still running a massive public construction pipeline over the next three years, but it’s deliberately slowing and resequencing parts of the taxpayer-supported capital plan to reduce cost pressure and smooth delivery.
• Transportation and health remain the biggest engines of near-term work, led by major rapid transit and Highway 1 projects, plus multiple hospital builds and redevelopments that will keep complex institutional procurement busy.
• The province is leaning on self-supported capital—especially BC Hydro’s multi-billion-dollar annual program—to help maintain overall construction demand, while also moving to raise the “major projects” reporting threshold to better reflect today’s construction costs.

The Whole Story:

B.C.’s latest budget is built around a slower, more sequenced capital plan — but it still maps out one of the biggest pipelines of public construction in the country, with $52.9 billion in total capital spending over the next three years on everything from hospitals and schools to highways, bridges and power infrastructure.

The province says taxpayer-supported capital spending will total $37.7 billion over the fiscal plan, down $8.2 billion from last year as several marquee projects near completion and other major work is resequenced following a capital plan review. The government is also counting on $15.3 billion in self-supported capital — largely in electricity generation and transmission — to keep the broader construction market busy as it “re-paces” the plan to reduce cost pressures and smooth out delivery cycles.

For contractors, the three-year allocations show where the work concentrates. In 2026-27 alone, the budget forecasts $4.79 billion for the BC Transportation Financing Authority, $3.80 billion for health, $1.50 billion for K-12 schools, $1.66 billion for post-secondary facilities and $914 million for social housing, before tapering in the out-years.

Transportation remains one of the largest single markets in the plan, with roughly $14.0 billion in operating and capital investment over three years, including $12.3 billion from the province and $1.7 billion leveraged through federal and partner cost-sharing. Big-ticket items include $3 billion for the Broadway Subway project in Metro Vancouver, targeted for completion in 2027; $2.3 billion for Highway 1 improvements from 264th Street to Mount Lehman Road, expected to finish in 2028; and $2.7 billion for the next Highway 1 phase from Mount Lehman to Highway 11, expected to wrap up in 2031. The plan also earmarks $2.2 billion over three years for rehabilitation and preservation work such as paving, bridge rehab, intersection improvements and culvert upgrades.

The budget highlights several discrete highway and marine projects, including $416 million to redevelop the Belleville Terminal; $230 million for the Highway 8 corridor rebuild after the 2021 atmospheric river, including two new climate-resilient bridges; $93 million for a new Highway 1 Sackum Overhead Bridge near Lytton; and $64 million to rehabilitate the Agassiz-Rosedale Bridge.

Health capital remains a dominant driver of complex construction procurement. The province projects $11.1 billion in health-sector infrastructure spending over the next three years, covering major hospital builds and redevelopments, long-term care capacity, and facility upgrades supported by provincial dollars and other sources such as regional hospital districts and foundations.

Among the headline projects: $2.9 billion toward a new hospital and integrated cancer centre in Surrey (completion targeted for 2029); $2.3 billion for the new St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver (expected 2027); and $2.0 billion for the multi-phase Richmond Hospital redevelopment, including a new acute care tower anticipated to open in 2028. The plan also points to $1.9 billion for phases 2 and 3 of the Royal Columbian Hospital redevelopment, $1.6 billion for a new acute care tower at University Hospital of Northern B.C., and $1.4 billion to replace Cowichan District Hospital, with two new cancer centres in Kamloops and Nanaimo budgeted at $715 million.

On the education side, the province says about $3.9 billion will be invested in K-12 schools over the fiscal plan, including seismic replacements and projects tied to fast-growing enrolment corridors. Examples listed in the budget include $203 million for a new Smith Secondary School in Langley, $176 million to replace Mission Senior Secondary, $144 million to replace Pitt Meadows Secondary, and $127 million to replace Prince Rupert Middle School under the seismic mitigation program.

Housing construction is also positioned as a steady workstream, with the budget estimating about $2.7 billion in taxpayer-supported capital spending over three years to deliver a mix of shelter space, supportive housing, affordable housing and near-market rentals. Among the examples: $221 million for 328 units at Woodland Park in Port Moody; $188 million for 97 units at Clark & 1st Avenue in Vancouver; $173 million for 300 units on East Cordova Street in Vancouver; and $153 million for 205 units at the Pandora project in Victoria.

The plan also flags the construction load coming from post-secondary institutions, with $4.4 billion in total capital spending over three years across campuses — much of it funded through non-provincial sources such as foundations, donations, institutional revenues and federal funding. One project cited is a $70 million advanced therapeutics manufacturing facility at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

On the energy and utilities side, self-supported capital spending is forecast at $5.01 billion in 2026-27, rising to $5.19 billion by 2028-29, led by BC Hydro’s projected $4.76 billion to $4.99 billion annual capital program. In the province’s major-project reporting, BC Hydro’s project list includes a mix of transmission and reliability upgrades and EV charging infrastructure work.

Finally, the budget contains a reporting change that will be watched by owners, contractors and accountants who track government capital disclosure: the province says it will table legislation to update the $50-million threshold used for its major projects table, arguing construction costs have risen more than 150% since 2000 and the current threshold now captures more than 200 projects totalling over $80 billion — including many routine school and utility upgrades.