Federal and B.C. governments to pay $200M for Tumbler Ridge school and health centre

The federal and British Columbia governments have announced billions of dollars in combined investments to spur housing development and update infrastructure, including building a new high school in Tumbler Ridge, the site of a mass shooting this year.

Prime Minister Mark Carney made the announcement Thursday, while on a construction site in Vancouver, calling the plan a “landmark new agreement” for building more homes and modernizing infrastructure in B.C. 

“We’ll do this by working together to reduce development charges. We will convert vacant condos into affordable housing and we will invest in community infrastructure from schools and hospitals to public transit,” he said.

The partnership includes spending more than $5 billion on B.C. infrastructure, $3.2 billion to lower development charges for multi-unit housing — reducing costs by up to 50 per cent in communities that are deemed a priority — and $284 million to reduce barriers for new construction.

The governments are also promising to convert unsold condos into affordable homes, using the federal government’s new Build Canada Homes agency, whose creation received approval in the senate on Thursday.

“We’re going to leverage innovative financing tools from Build Canada Homes to convert thousands of vacant condos into affordable homes,” Carney told the news conference. 

The federal and B.C. governments are also pledging $100 million each to build the new school and modernize the Tumbler Ridge health-care centre. 

B.C. Premier David Eby promised the new school last month, saying students wouldn’t have to return to the site of a mass shooting in February. 

Carney said when he and the premier were in Tumbler Ridge after the murders of eight people, they heard from students, parents, teachers and first responders.

“We talked about what could be done to begin to heal from that trauma, that loss, unspeakable tragedy. The premier and I, among other things, we promised that we would be there for the community as they rebuild,” Carney said. 

The prime minister said work on the new school will start this summer, beginning with the removal of the existing school.

Jesse Van Rootselaar killed her mother and brother before going to the school on Feb. 10, killing five students and an educational assistant before killing herself. 

There are about 2,200 vacant condo units in areas considered a priority for growth in B.C., and Carney said converting those would be the fastest and most efficient ways to increase housing supply. 

“With higher interest rates and weaker investment demand, developers are stuck,” he said. “They don’t want to sell at a loss. They can’t afford to hold those empty units indefinitely. And the problem is that those empty homes don’t just sit idle. They also disincentivize new construction.”

Carney said more information would be provided on that program in the fall, but it could include purchasing the condos and renting them or financing the homes at an affordable rate. 

Eby told the news conference that the announcement is an important commitment between the provincial and federal governments to help make life better for those in B.C. 

“And it’s evidence that governments can work together to improve the quality of life for people,” he said. 

The prime minister spent the second half of his day in Vancouver watching the World Cup game at BC Place Stadium as Canada soundly defeated Qatar, 6-1. He sat between his wife, Diana Fox Carney, and Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA.

Before kick off, Carney said he expected a good match, as the Qataris are tough, but correctly predicted Canada would be on the attack. 

“We’re great at the back, we got a great keeper, so I think it’s going to be great. The atmosphere is going to be unbelievable in BC Place, and the atmosphere on Granville (Street), the atmosphere everywhere is unbelievable, you can feel it.” 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 18, 2026.

By Ashley Joannou | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.