If elected in the Oct. 24 provincial election, the BC Conservatives say they will commit $60M toward a cardiac catheterization lab at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital. (Image Credit: File photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Jordan Davidson

election promise

BC Conservatives pledge $60M for cath lab at Nanaimo hospital

Oct 13, 2026 | 2:18 PM

NANAIMO — The Conservative Party of BC said if elected this fall, they’ll commit $60M to a new cardiac catheterization lab at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital. (NRGH)

The announcement was made at the Millstone Medical Building on Nanaimo’s Dufferin Cres., on Tuesday, Oct. 13, by BC Conservative MLA for Courtenay-Comox Brennan Day.

In a news release, Day said this money commitment would help advance the long-awaited project to provide life-saving cardiac treatment for more than 450,000 residents on the mid and North Island.

“For someone experiencing a serious heart attack, minutes matter. We have hundreds of thousands of people living north of the Malahat, and we are still transporting patients hours away to access treatments that should be available much closer to home. That is a serious gap in our health-care system, and it needs to be addressed.”

The provincial government officially accepted an offer from the Nanaimo Regional Hospital District back in March to front costs of concept and business planning for a catheterization lab at NRGH, advancing the project but keeping it out of provincial budgets for now.

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The NRHD’s commitment came in December, when the governing board offered an initial balance of $50 million toward the project in a bid to kickstart momentum.

Hospital Districts are required to pay for 40 per cent of capital expenditures for healthcare projects.

“This is not just about Nanaimo,” Day added. “It is about families in Parksville, Qualicum Beach, the Comox Valley, Campbell River, Port Alberni and communities right up the North Island. People shouldn’t have to live near Victoria or Vancouver to have timely access to critical cardiac care.”

The B.C. government’s 2026 budget tabled in mid-February pledged to advance the development of new acute care projects, including planning to expand NRGH.

New intensive care and high acuity units were completed in recent years, while the Nanaimo Cancer Centre is presently under construction and is expected to open in 2028.

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by Jordan Davidson

BC Conservatives pledge $60M for cath lab at Nanaimo hospital

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