VANCOUVER – B.C. Premier David Eby has rearranged his cabinet after Finance Minister Brenda Bailey announced a cancer diagnosis.
Health Minister Josie Osborne will take over the finance portfolio, while Jobs Minister Ravi Kahlon will step into the Health Ministry.
Bailey, who announced that she has an early-stage, treatable cancer and would be returning to work in the fall, will be replacing Kahlon in the jobs portfolio.
Eby said Friday that Bailey will be taking six weeks for treatment but that she wants to keep working.
“The good news is it’s caught early, it’s treatable, and her doctor said the prognosis is very good,” he said.
The premier said budget preparations are already underway with deadlines and milestones to be set out in September, which is why the timeline didn’t work for Bailey.
“This is a very heavy workload, obviously, to carry while you are also going through cancer treatment. Nobody should have to do that. And so Brenda will be going back to a file that she knows and can excel at with work she can pick up immediately once she’s back.”
He said Bailey will be on the Treasury Board and involved in the decision-making processes to provide continuity.
“But we also want to create the space around a serious run of cancer treatment that Minister Bailey is going to go through and make sure that she has the space she needs to heal and recover,” Eby said.
Bailey said in a social media post on Thursday that she has been “given a good prognosis for full recovery” and she expects to be back in time for the fall legislative session, which begins Oct. 5.
Bailey said the changes are an “elegant solution.”
“I get to be back on a file that I’m deeply committed to and know very well, and I don’t slow down the budget process in the meantime, so I thank the premier for his flexibility and my colleagues for stepping in when needed.”
Bailey delivered the latest fiscal update on Monday, revealing B.C.‘s deficit was $7.7 billion for fiscal year 2025-2026, which was $3.3 billion below the previous estimate.
Energy Minister Adrian Dix will fill in for Bailey in the Jobs and Economic Growth Ministry in the weeks that she undergoes her cancer treatment.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 14, 2026.
