The B.C. Nurses’ Union is optimistic of a high voter turnout, but also a ‘yes’ vote as members began a nearly four-day strike vote Friday (May 8).
The turnout was so high in the first hours of voting Friday morning that there was a “significant slowdown” on the voting site that persisted for well over an hour, B.C. Nurses’ Union vice-president Tristan Newby told Black Press Media.
He said the system could hold several thousand people voting at one time “and it maintained a slow rhythm for an hour and a half at least.” The B.C. Nurses’ Union has more than 50,000 members.
The vote began Friday at 9 a.m. and will continue until Monday at 9 p.m.
Newby said the union will announce the news of the vote shortly after, and if there’s a majority of ‘yes’ votes then it gives the union a 90-day window to engage in various forms of job action.
While a strike vote doesn’t mean guaranteed job action by union members, it gives the union the legal authority to do so.
“What I’d really like to assure British Columbians is that that does not mean that on (May) the 12th nurses are going to be on the streets picketing.”
The B.C. Nurses’ Union said in late-April that a strike vote was likely after bargaining hit an impasse.
In a bargaining update email obtained by Black Press Media, the B.C. Nurses’ Union said that after a call on April 20, the union’s council unanimously voted to endorse the bargaining committee to declare an impasse, step away from the bargaining table and authorize a strike vote.
The impasse follows a recent ruling from arbitrator Vince Ready regarding massage therapy benefits.
The email says that Ready’s decision threatens the benefits that members rely on. His ruling directs that massage therapy coverage for plan members and their dependents be capped at $1,427 in 2027 and $1,145 in 2028. Subsequent limits to the massage therapy reimbursements would be determined based upon actuarial calculations.
The email also says the cap will likely continue to decrease over time.
The union added that there would be no immediate changes before a new plan model is implemented Jan. 1, 2027.
Newby said the hope is the strike vote allows bargaining to resume and bring about a better deal.
“If you look at other health-care unions across the province, almost all of them have had to go through this process of declaring an impasse, going to a strike vote, having a large majority of the members state that they would be willing to strike and then within a very short window that compelled the employers and the government back to the bargaining table,” he said.
“And again, shortly thereafter, they were able to reach a ratified agreement.”
Bargaining has been ongoing since October 2025.
“This was a hand that was forced upon us because we felt that enough was enough, and we’re hopeful that we will be able to resolve this without any significant disruptions to patient care, but this is the result of the employer and the government demonstrating a lack of respect, and for that reason we’re engaging in a strike vote.”
The nurses’ union, he said, has brought forward many “bold, underlined proposals” to improve patient care and improve safety within the workplace.
Speaking to media Thursday in an unrelated press conference, Health Minister Josie Osborne said she’s confident the government will reach a deal with the B.C. Nurses’ Union.
“Nurses are a vital, critical part of our health-care system. We want them to be well supported. We know how hard nurses work.”
Osborne said the negotiations will “remain at the table,” encouraging all parties there to “stay focused on achieving the best deal possible for British Columbians in a way that that uplifts and upholds the work that nurses do.”
She added she’s encouraged by the fact the province has reached a tentative agreement with doctors in B.C.
Newby, however, said doctors are their own bargaining association and have their own priorities, which don’t necessarily reflect that of nurses.