B.C. Finance Minister Brenda Bailey announces she has cancer, will reveal next steps Friday

B.C. Finance Minister Brenda Bailey. Photo by ADRIAN LAM /TIMES COLONIST

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Finance Minister Brenda Bailey announced Thursday evening that she has early-stage, treatable cancer and that she and Premier David Eby have spent the past few weeks figuring out the best path forward.

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Whether that means a cabinet shuffle or somebody taking over her portfolio on a temporary basis while she receives treatment remains unclear.

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“I will be receiving treatment later this summer and anticipate returning to work in time for the fall legislative session,” said Bailey in a post on LinkedIn.

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“Since I was diagnosed, the premier and I have been working to find the best path to get through treatment and continue the work of this government. We will have more to say tomorrow.”

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Bailey, the NDP MLA for Vancouver-South Granville, has been in charge of the powerful Ministry of Finance since November 2024, with Eby handing her the portfolio following the last provincial election and the political retirement of Kootenay West MLA Katrine Conroy.

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Over the past two years, the NDP government has faced mounting concerns over its budget, finishing $7.7 billion in the red in 2025-26 and projected to run a $13.3 billion deficit in 2026-27.

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Bailey has overseen the province’s efforts to rein in spending, including a spending review of B.C.’s health authorities and the “repacing” of seven long-term care facilities and Phase 2 of the redevelopment of Burnaby Hospital, which meant the cancellation of construction contracts already underway.

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This week, the minister touted the reduction of last year’s deficit from the original projection of $10.9 billion to $7.7 billion, mainly through the $2.6 billion the province is receiving from a settlement with tobacco companies.

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At the same time, the government faces increased costs due to a mediated agreement with the B.C. General Employees’ Union that will give government workers a salary increase of three per cent per year for each of the next four years.

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The agreement, when spread out to all other public sector workers through the shared mandate, means salary costs for public sector employees could increase by around $16 billion over the next four years.

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Her background is in the tech and video game sector, co-founding Silicon Sisters, a Canadian video game studio marketed towards women and girls, in 2010.

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