In this edition: B.C. nurses step up their protest with a picket at the province’s largest hospital; the government buys unsold condos for affordable housing, but developers criticize the plan; Fraser Valley home prices are down 26% from the 2022 peak, and the market remains sluggish due to high interest rates.
B.C. nurses escalate strike: picket planned at Vancouver General Hospital
The British Columbia Nurses’ Union (BCNU) says it plans to hold a picket at Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) on Tuesday, July 7, starting at 5:30 a.m. It’s the latest step in escalating a labour dispute that began earlier in the week with a refusal to perform non-essential services and limits on overtime.
In the union’s view, essential patient services will continue, and patient safety remains the top priority.
The picket is not a typical action—it’s a way to pressure the employer and the government. For nurses, it is a necessary step, according to BCNU president Adriana Ghir: “Nurses don’t want to be standing on picket lines; we went into this profession to care for patients.” But as she notes in her statement, the provincial government and health-care employers can no longer ignore what the system is asking for, and the immense pressure nurses experience every day. Ghir adds that employers are trying to “undermine nurses’ right to lawful job action by threatening disciplinary measures for anyone participating in the strike.”
The conflict has been ongoing for several months. In May, 98.2% of union members voted in favour of strike action, and then 67% voted against a tentative agreement reached on May 22, which included improved benefits and shift premiums. Since then, negotiations with the B.C. Health Employers Association (HEABC) have essentially been on ice. The parties are scheduled to meet on Monday, the day before the picket—but uncertainty remains. In the view of BCNU executive director Jim Gould, the government needs to return to the bargaining table with a proposal that “respects nurses and recognizes their value in the health-care system.”
The union’s key demands include a general wage increase, improvements to retention conditions, and ensuring workplace safety. With a severe shortage of nurses across the province, as Gould emphasizes, “the government won’t solve the staffing shortage without making serious improvements to working conditions.” He also warns that the union will not tolerate any attempt to intimidate or threaten members involved in lawful job action.
The planned picket at VGH is only part of a broader strategy. In addition to it, nurses will continue refusing tasks not directly related to their duties and limiting overtime. As noted by CHEK News, these actions have not yet affected emergency care—but they add pressure to hospitals that are already short on staff. Analysts say that if negotiations on Monday fail to produce results, the picket at the province’s largest hospital will send a serious signal: the union is prepared for a long standoff, and patients could face longer waits in non-urgent departments. For everyday Vancouver residents, it could mean delays on Tuesday morning at the hospital for some material deliveries and staff movement, while emergency services will continue operating as normal.
B.C. authorities buy unsold condos—developers call the plan “unwelcome”
The Government of British Columbia, together with the federal cabinet, has announced its intention to purchase more than 2,200 unsold units in multi-unit buildings to convert them into affordable housing under a “rent-to-own” model. However, representatives from the construction industry, including the Urban Development Institute, say they were not asked for such help and view it as more burdensome than beneficial. A story published by Times Colonist lays out why developers reject the idea of a “fire-sale” buyout—and what alternatives they are proposing.
At the heart of the program, announced by B.C. Premier David Eby and Prime Minister Mark Carney, is $1.45 billion in funding—of which the province and the federal government each contribute $145 million, with the remainder coming from financing. The money is meant to go toward purchasing unsold units, which would then be offered to residents through a rent-to-own arrangement: part of the monthly rent would be applied toward a future down payment. Eby compared the initiative to buying an item on clearance, saying the government would be purchasing housing below the cost of construction and thus making it affordable for people who can’t wait. But, he adds, officials do not plan to buy units in Vancouver—where “the numbers don’t add up.”
Rick Elich, CEO of Townline Homes and chair of the Urban Development Institute, said he is not aware of any developers that were consulted before the program was launched. He pointed to the creation of a complicated structure—where government becomes a landlord and a rent-to-own participant—as unnecessary bureaucratization. In his view, it would be far more effective to keep the 2024 election promise to subsidize up to 40% of the purchase price for 25,000 new homes over five years for middle-income families. Under the plan, that assistance was intended to be repaid either when the home is resold or over 25 years.
Housing Minister Christine Boyle, meanwhile, says the goal is to help people with good jobs—but without the “bank of mom and dad”—save for a down payment, then buy their own home. She mentioned that the pilot version of the promised 40% subsidy is already underway in the Heather Lands project, a joint initiative involving Indigenous communities (Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh). The project aims to build more than 2,600 homes at below-market prices for middle-income buyers.
Mark Goodman, director of Goodman Commercial real estate, called the purchase of unsold units a waste of taxpayers’ money. He argues that homes are already being sold below the cost to build, so the government buyout will not solve the affordability problem. Instead, he suggests eliminating taxes entirely on home sales—pointing to a recent deal between Ottawa and Ontario that saved Ontario residents up to $130,000 on homes worth up to $1.5 million.
So while the government frames the program as an urgent measure to get homes for residents, the construction industry views it as an unnecessary bureaucratic intervention. Developers would like to see either direct tax cuts for buyers or subsidies for down payments—not a complicated government rent-to-own scheme. With B.C.’s housing market remaining extremely expensive, and many families still unable to afford mortgages, the debate over exactly how the government should boost affordability is only beginning. The full story is available at Times Colonist.
Fraser Valley home prices down 26% from 2022: market remains sluggish
The real estate market in Canada’s Fraser Valley (British Columbia) continues to cool. According to data from the regional real estate board published in a story by CityNews Vancouver, housing prices are down 26% from the four-year-high peak set in 2022. The decline is significant—especially as many North American markets have seen growth or stability in recent years. But in the Fraser Valley, long seen as one of the more affordable alternatives to expensive Vancouver, the picture is now very different.
The benchmark price of a home in the region is currently just under $885,000 Canadian dollars. That’s 7% lower than a year ago. Sales are barely increasing: in June, 1,147 transactions were recorded through the Multiple Listing Service—just 2% more than in May, and 4% fewer than in June 2025. In effect, the market is standing still despite a gradual improvement in conditions for buyers. The sharpest drop is in the condo segment: in June, the benchmark price was $476,400, 1.5% below the May level and 9.1% below the year-ago figures.
Board CEO Baldiv Gill said that even with a more favourable climate, buyers are still holding back. “The question is whether qualified buyers who are still on the sidelines recognize the value that’s available today,” said board chair Ishaq Ismail. In his view, the spring market in the Fraser Valley did not meet expectations, despite improved affordability and a wider range of options. By comparison, the benchmark price for detached homes is $1.35 million—7.7% lower than in June 2025 and 1.2% lower than in May. Townhouses fell 0.7% month over month to $764,000, and 7.3% year over year.
What lies behind the term “benchmark price”? In Canada’s housing valuation system, it is not the average price of homes actually sold. Instead, it’s a model-based measure reflecting the price of a typical home of a given type in the region, taking into account its characteristics. That makes it easier to track trends without depending on which specific homes were sold in a particular month. The 26% drop from the 2022 highs is the result of several factors: high interest rates that make mortgages expensive, buyer caution, and a broad slowdown in the provincial economy. For those who do have the means and are ready to buy, a window of opportunity has opened—but, as the numbers show, there are not many takers yet. It’s the classic “buyers’ market” scenario, where supply exceeds demand, but buyers don’t rush in because of uncertainty and persistently high rates.
