I did - I qualify for both - hence the question from others who may have had a similar dilemma

 

wtf man. Google...

 

Your British Columbia driver's licence now does double duty as your health care card.
There are lots of people who live in both provinces but keep their Alberta car registration and health care. I assume they do this because it's cheaper (but may result in issues if you have an insurance claim and get caught.) Lots of people maintain an Alberta address because taxes are lower. Here in the Okanagan probably 10-20% of cars have Alberta plates even in winter.
The bottom line is if your Alberta health care card is valid you can use it in pretty much any province except Quebec. For some reason Quebec doesn't participate in the same reciprocal arrangement as the other provinces. I even have patients who live in Alberta and come here to see me. If you're living and paying taxes in B.C. go to the nearest provincial government services building and they will set you up with a driver's licence and health care coverage at the same time.

 

where do you pay taxes and claim residence? That is where i would keep my card.
Do you also have a healthcare plan with work?

B.C charges to have a card.

 

On a related note, I just traded my BC drivers' license / health card (as someone mentioned, it's all on one card in BC if you drive) in for an Ontario drivers' license. Now I have to wait for that to arrive before I can apply for an Ontario health card, even though I was a prior Ontario resident!

Frustrating, but I understand why; they want to avoid you having a card in more than one province. To the OP, since you do qualify for a card in Alberta, keep that one. The BC service is expensive, as mentioned above.