B.C. government to expedite and consolidate new school, hospital, and infrastructure projects
“At a time of uncertainty caused by Donald Trump’s tariffs, it’s more important than ever that we create more good-paying jobs by delivering the critical infrastructure projects people need — faster,” said Eby. “We are building a record number of new schools, hospitals, and major transportation projects across B.C., but too many others face unnecessary and costly delays. This legislation is designed to speed up permitting and approvals to get shovels in the ground more quickly on priority projects.”
The legislation is intended to fast-track permitting processes, reduce bureaucratic delays, and ensure faster delivery of high-priority capital projects, especially as B.C. continues to see rapid population growth.
It would also allow the province to streamline approvals for a limited number of large-scale, privately delivered projects that align with provincial priorities, such as food security, disaster recovery, and reducing reliance on U.S. imports.
B.C. Minister of Infrastructure Bowinn Ma emphasized that the new law will equip her recently created ministry with greater authority and tools to manage and accelerate project delivery across sectors.
Her ministry and position were newly created in November 2024, with a mandate to lead this work to bring capital planning and procurement into a single ministry to allow for better coordination at a time when the government is making major investments in building new and improved schools, hospitals, and other infrastructure. This is separate from the B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Transit, which focuses on building and improving road and public transit infrastructure.
“This legislation is the next step forward,” said Ma. “As we work to deliver projects faster, this gives us the tools to accelerate key projects and help strengthen our province, while maintaining our commitments to advancing reconciliation and protecting the environment.”
December 2024 construction progress on Fraser Health Authority’s $2.88-billion new Cloverdale Hospital and BC Cancer Centre in Surrey. (EllisDon)
Specific provisions under the new legislation include fast-tracked approvals for schools, hospitals, and other provincially designated infrastructure projects, as well as expedited environmental reviews, a reliance model that enables approved professionals to streamline permitting processes, alternative permit pathways with local governments to bypass delays, and centralized procurement powers by providing authority to bundle procurement for multiple projects to enable cost efficiencies and faster construction.
The ministry will also potentially manage or deliver capital projects on behalf of school districts, health authorities, and post-secondary institutions.
Further details on how projects will be designated as “provincially significant” — and the criteria they must meet — will be released in the coming weeks.
The provincial government’s estimated capital spending for the three fiscal years ending in 2027/2028 will reach a total of about $60 billion, which exceeds the size of the previous three-year capital plans.
Much of this can be attributed to the significantly market-inflated costs for construction materials, labour, and equipment since the pandemic.
However, critics have also suggested that the government’s requirement for union labour for provincial projects since 2018 is also a growing cost factor, as it limits the size of the available labour pool.
More recently, the 2023 updates to B.C.’s seismic code requiring more rigorous construction has contributed to cost escalation for new housing, schools, hospitals, and transportation infrastructure, including those by TransLink.
The provincial government had also previously planned on requiring 100 per cent of homes in new large multi-family residential buildings be accessible for the unique needs of seniors and people with disabilities, with the development industry warning this would reduce general livability/spatial efficiency and greatly increase construction costs from the additional floor area and features required — effectively hindering new housing supply. In March 2025, the provincial government scaled back this accessibility requirement to 20 per cent, similar to the existing policies of some municipal governments in Metro Vancouver.
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