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B.C. Voters Cast Two Ballots in Eight Days: Municipal Elections Today, Provincial Vote Oct. 24
British Columbians head to the polls today (Saturday, Oct. 17) for quadrennial municipal elections, run separately by each local government; one week later, on Oct. 24, comes the snap provincial election Premier David Eby called on Sept. 22 — all 93 seats in the legislature up for grabs.
Why it matters
B.C. voters get two elections in eight days: today's municipal vote, then a provincial election next Saturday. The provincial vote is an early election Eby called on September 22, with all 93 seats contested, while the municipal vote is the routine every-four-years local election. They are run by different agencies with different advance-voting and time-off rules — employer voting leave applies to the provincial vote but not today's municipal one.
Full report
General local elections take place today, October 17: held every four years on the third Saturday of October, each municipality, regional district and school district organizes its own vote for mayor, council, school trustees and regional directors. Province-wide advance voting was October 7, with additional dates set locally; polls are open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time on voting day.
The provincial election is set for October 24: after Eby asked the lieutenant governor to dissolve the legislature, writs were issued September 22 and Elections BC runs a province-wide vote. All 93 electoral districts elect MLAs, with 47 seats needed for a majority; advance voting runs October 16–21, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time, and polls close at 8 p.m. Pacific time on final voting day.
Dr. Michael MacKenzie, VIU's Jarislowsky Chair in Trust and Political Leadership, notes that two votes so close together test voter engagement and how voters evaluate local candidates. Some municipal candidates have expressed frustration that the province called an election in the middle of the local campaign, saying parallel campaigns confuse voters.
For employers: B.C.'s Election Act requires three consecutive hours off for provincial-election voting (penalties up to $10,000 or one year in prison), but no such obligation applies to today's municipal vote. The final count, including absentee and mail-in ballots, runs November 6–10, with final results returned November 18.
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