VancouverMETRO VANCOUVER NEWS
Eby promises faster path to practice for international medical graduates in Surrey
BC NDP Leader David Eby campaigned in Surrey on Oct. 9, promising more doctors and nurses, new clinics and longer same-day appointment hours. The party’s plan would also speed training for qualified international medical graduates already living in B.C.
BC NDP Leader David Eby was in Surrey on Friday, Oct. 9, promising to hire more doctors and nurses in the province and fast-track international medical graduates. He said an NDP government would open new health-care clinics, extend hours for same-day appointments and train international medical graduates so they can practise in B.C.
“Our plan will get qualified internationally trained doctors and nurses onto the front lines while we extend hours in clinics so it’s easier to get an appointment when you need one,” Eby said at a morning campaign event at the SFU Surrey Sustainable Energy Engineering Building on University Drive. The building is across the street from a new medical school that is to be built.
It was Eby’s second visit to Surrey this week and the latest by a B.C. political leader seeking votes in the city. In the last election, in 2024, the city’s 10 ridings were split between NDP and Conservative wins. Two NDP candidates, Amna Shah in Surrey City Centre and Garry Begg in Guildford, won by razor-thin margins over Conservative challengers.
Conservative Leader Lorne Doerkson also made two campaign stops in Surrey this week, on Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 7 and 8. CentreBC Leader Elenore Sturko visited the Bridgeview area on Friday.
Saturday, Oct. 24, is the final voting day in the snap B.C. election called by Eby. The NDP’s six-point health-care plan promises an accelerated “bridging to practice” training program for qualified international medical graduates already living in B.C. who cannot practise family medicine because of a shortage of residency seats.
The NDP also promises 1,000 additional training seats for nurses, nurse practitioners, allied health workers and care aides. It says it would support rural communities and emergency departments by offering discounted tuition, loan forgiveness and moving expenses to attract health-care professionals to underserved rural areas facing staffing shortages.
Video of Eby’s Oct. 9 announcement in Surrey is available on the BC NDP YouTube channel.