For Immediate Release
May 12, 2026
To President Adriane Gear and the members of the B.C. Nurses Union,
I wish to congratulate you and the 55,000 BCNU members on the monumental success of your strike vote. I offer you my solidarity.
After months of negotiations, after having 94% of your union’s proposals shot down, after being repeatedly ignored by a government who wishes to avoid addressing the material needs of our frontline workers, using your power as workers to come together and call for a strike is commendable. I also recognize that strike votes are not taken lightly, and put union members in a difficult position, which further underscores the necessity of our government coming to the table to engage in fair negotiations.
Through your tireless advocacy, British Columbians have come to understand the severity of the crisis facing nurses in BC. New graduates are walking away from nursing within five years. 50% of nurses experience physical violence at least once a month. 93% report working short-staffed. The moral injury, the mental and physical toll this crisis takes, is immeasurable. It is unbelievably callous of this government to attempt a scale back of benefits, when they are more needed than ever.
The right to strike is a profoundly sacred one. It is through the power of organized labour that we won the 40-hour work week, that we won the minimum wage.
It is through the power of organized labour that the 55,000 members of the BCNU will win a contract that offers fair staff-to-patient ratios, that delivers on the promise of good benefits, and that respects the critical role nurses play in keeping our healthcare system running.
In solidarity,
Emily Lowan
Leader of the Green Party of British Columbia