B.C. MLA Elenore Sturko listens during a news conference in Richmond, B.C., on Tuesday, July 30, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

By The Canadian Press

More doctors, maternal health priorities in B.C.’s election campaign

Oct 13, 2026 | 12:25 PM

Health care remains a key focus in campaigning for the British Columbia election on Oct. 24.

Here’s a look at some of the latest from the campaign trail.

NDP, MUSLIM GROUPS SAY CONSERVATIVES SHOULD REMOVE ITS CAMPAIGN DIRECTOR

The NDP has joined Muslim organizations in raising concerns over a social media post by the director of the B.C. Conservative’s election campaign.

Katy Merrifield reportedly used an epithet and Islam together in a social media post in June, but it was taken down shortly afterwards.

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Amna Shaw, the NDP candidate for Surrey City Centre, says all 10 candidates running in Surrey should state together that they support removing Merrifield.

Both the BC Muslim Association and the Unified Muslim Associations of B.C. have also criticized her statement and called for the Conservatives to take action.

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CENTREBC COMMITS TO PUBLIC, NOT PRIVATE HEALTH SYSTEM

CentreBC has put out its plans to make health care more accessible in the province.

Party Leader Elenore Sturko says it would ensure that every resident in B.C., who wants a family doctor or nurse practitioner, would have one by the end of 2031.

Speaking in front of the Peace Arch Hospital in White Rock, Sturko says CentreBC is committed to a public health system — not private.

She also promised to protect that system by recruiting and retaining health care professionals, building surgical and diagnostic capacity and shrinking the former NDP government’s “bureaucratic bloat.”  

NDP PROMISES PERINATAL MENTAL HEALTH UNIT

The NPD is promising if it wins the election it would focus more on supporting women’s health.

New Democrat Leader David Eby says his government would open a perinatal mental health unit where mothers experiencing mental health challenges can heal with their new babies — the first of its kind in Canada.

He says his government would expand coverage for menopause treatment and give breast cancer survivors and women with medical conditions affordable PharmaCare coverage for alternative treatments.

The promise also includes a provincewide women’s health strategy on menopause care, reducing diagnostic and treatment delays and strengthening community reproductive, sexual and menstrual health services.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 13, 2026.

The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press