Immigration Forum / Canada / January 2006

I would assume so, since CIC advises you to purchase insurance.
According to http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/newcomer/guide/section-
05.html#8,

'In Ontario, British Columbia, New Brunswick and Quebec, there is a
three-month waiting period before you become eligible for medicare
coverage. If you are immigrating to any of these provinces, you should
get private, short-term health-care insurance for the first three
months. Insurance companies are listed in the Yellow Pages of all
Canadian telephone books, under "Insurance."'

Absolutely. The insurance companies like Blue Cross, Manulife Financial and
others will gladly offer you a travel insurance package if you are
temporarily in B.C., and even if you are a permanent resident (to cover the
waiting period for instance). How long that can be extended, I don't know,
but then again, you may not have to, because legal permanent residents (and
some temp. residents) of B.C. become members of the mandatory government
health plan. See

http://www.healthservices.gov.bc.ca/msp/infoben/eligible.html#who

Supplementary private insurance (to cover prescription drugs, dental, etc.)
can then be obtained easily, too - there is a competitive market out there.

~Kevin