British Columbia, Canada Municipal elections 2026 — Live Results & Map

Every local government in British Columbia votes on one day

British Columbia holds its general local elections on Saturday 17 October 2026. Unlike a provincial or federal election, this is not one contest but several hundred held simultaneously: voters in every municipality and every regional district electoral area in the province choose mayors, city councillors, school board trustees and rural directors on the same day, for four-year terms. The cycle has been four-yearly since 2014, when the province lengthened terms from three years.

Who is elected, and by what method

Mayors are elected by first-past-the-post: one seat, the most votes wins. Councillors, school trustees and regional district directors are elected by plurality block voting — each voter may cast as many votes as there are seats to fill, and the top finishers take them. Vancouver voters, for example, elect the mayor plus ten city councillors, seven park board commissioners and nine school trustees, marking one ballot for the mayoralty and then up to ten, seven and nine names respectively on the others.

Administration is split in a way that matters when you look for results. Elections BC oversees campaign financing, disclosure and third-party advertising across the province, but the vote itself — ballots, nominations, counting — is run by each jurisdiction's own chief election officer. There is no single provincial results feed on the night; the numbers come from each municipality.

Vancouver, and the parties that do not exist elsewhere in Canada

British Columbia is the one province where municipal politics is openly organised into parties, and Vancouver is where that is most developed. Ken Sim won the mayoralty in 2022 with 51% of the vote for ABC Vancouver, unseating incumbent Kennedy Stewart, and was sworn in on 7 November 2022. He seeks a second term against a crowded field: Kareem Allam for the Vancouver Liberals, his own former chief of staff; sitting councillor Rebecca Bligh for Vote Vancouver; Green councillor Pete Fry; and Colleen Hardwick, a councillor from 2018 to 2022, for TEAM for a Livable Vancouver.

Surrey, now the province's largest city by some measures, Burnaby, Richmond, Victoria, Kelowna and Abbotsford all elect on the same day, along with more than 150 smaller municipalities and the electoral areas of the regional districts, where a single director may represent a very large and very thinly populated area.

Why local elections carry more weight here than the turnout suggests

Municipal councils in British Columbia decide zoning and development approvals, set property tax rates, and run policing contracts, water, transit governance through regional bodies, and homelessness and drug-policy responses at street level — the issues that have dominated provincial politics for a decade are largely delivered, or not, by these councils. Turnout is nonetheless typically in the thirties as a share of registered voters, and lower still in the largest cities.

What ElectioMap publishes

This page will carry the mayoral results for British Columbia's major municipalities as each jurisdiction publishes them, with vote shares to two decimal places and turnout where it is reported. Because the count is run separately by every local government, figures arrive at different times and are marked with their source. ElectioMap publishes no projections and will not name a winner in any race before the count settles it.

Frequently asked questions

When are British Columbia's 2026 local elections?

Saturday 17 October 2026. Every municipality and regional district electoral area in the province votes on the same day, electing mayors, councillors, school board trustees and rural directors to four-year terms. The cycle has been four-yearly since 2014, when terms were lengthened from three years.

How are mayors and councillors elected?

Mayors by first past the post — one seat, most votes wins. Councillors, trustees and regional directors by plurality block voting: each voter may cast as many votes as there are seats to fill, and the top finishers are elected.

Who runs the election?

It is split. Elections BC oversees campaign financing, disclosure and third-party advertising across the province, but ballots, nominations and counting are run by each jurisdiction's own chief election officer. There is no single province-wide results feed on the night.

What is happening in the Vancouver mayoral race?

Incumbent Ken Sim of ABC Vancouver, who won in 2022 with 51% against then-mayor Kennedy Stewart, is seeking a second term. The declared field includes Kareem Allam for the Vancouver Liberals, sitting councillor Rebecca Bligh for Vote Vancouver, Green councillor Pete Fry, and former councillor Colleen Hardwick for TEAM for a Livable Vancouver.

Why does British Columbia have municipal parties when most of Canada does not?

It is the one province where local politics is openly organised into slates and parties, a practice that goes back decades in Vancouver in particular. Elsewhere in Canada municipal elections are formally non-partisan and candidates appear on the ballot without a label.

What do these councils decide?

Zoning and development approvals, property tax rates, policing contracts, water, regional transit governance, and street-level responses to homelessness and drug policy — much of what dominates British Columbia's provincial debate is delivered by municipal councils. Turnout is nonetheless usually in the thirties as a share of registered voters.

When will results be available?

Polls close in the early evening and most municipalities report within a few hours. Because every local government counts separately, figures arrive at different times; this page marks each with its source and with how much of the count it rests on.

Compiled and reviewed from official results by ElectioMap. See our data methodology.