Several B.C. election candidates say the overlap between municipal voting on Oct. 17 and the provincial election on Oct. 24 is creating confusion and straining local campaign capacity.
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Cori Ramsay, a city council candidate in Prince George, says a voter told her they “can’t wait” to vote for her on Oct. 24—despite her election taking place a week earlier, on Oct. 17.
Ramsay and others said British Columbians are also dealing with confusion about where and when to cast ballots as the municipal election day on Oct. 17 overlaps with provincial advance voting for the Oct. 24 election, which will elect 93 members of the provincial legislature and determine B.C.’s next premier.
Ramsay said she has heard of municipal candidates being told by voters, “I can’t vote for you because I’m voting for our MLA,” and she argued the dual elections make it harder for voters to assess candidates in what she described as a crowded field. She also said one frustrated voter told her she would base her choice on a “vibe check.”
Ramsay and other candidates linked the overlap to pressure on campaign volunteers and election staffing, warning that resources may be stretched without corresponding increases. Jenna Stoner, the union’s current president and a mayoral candidate in Squamish, said she has seen voters confused about where and when to vote and described the situation as “so frustrating.”
Stoner said she has also seen signs of volunteer burnout and raised concerns that volunteers or polling staff could be pulled toward provincial campaigns “at the expense of local efforts,” adding, “There’s limited capacity in the system and we’ve doubled the requirement of that system without necessarily doubling the resources.”
Tanya Webking, running for the BC Green Party in the provincial election in Vancouver-Strathcona, said some voters have mistaken her for a Vancouver Green Party candidate and that she has heard from multiple voters who are angry about the snap election call, viewing it as “costly and unnecessary.”
The concerns were raised amid criticism of NDP Leader David Eby’s decision to call a snap provincial election while local election campaigns were already underway. The Union of BC Municipalities, which represents local governments in the province, condemned the decision, and Ramsay—described in the report as a former president of the union—said the move puts “an unfair strain on the electorate.”
At a campaign event on Wednesday, Eby said he had confidence in electors’ ability to vote in two elections, saying, “The local candidate elections, as far as I can tell, are running just fine,” and adding that a future report from Elections BC may address the issue.
Elections BC said it has not assessed outcomes or impacts from the dual elections because the provincial election campaign is not finished. In an email on Thursday, the agency said it had received a “large number” of applications for election officials and other staff, more than the last provincial election, and said that in rural and remote communities it was still hiring election officials and office staff up to final voting day.
In Vancouver, Paul Thompson said it has been difficult to follow the large number of municipal candidates on the ballot, where there are more than 100 people running, and he also struggled to understand how the city’s various bodies—such as the park board—differ. He said he had already cast early votes in both elections but called the provincial election call a “poor choice,” arguing that taxpayers’ money was spent on something he said people he spoke with did not want.
Michael MacKenzie, a political studies professor and the Jarislowsky chair in trust and political leadership at Vancouver Island University, said overlapping campaigns are “bad for democracy,” arguing municipal governments make important decisions and that both sets of candidates often rely on the same volunteer base, leaving resources stretched. He said he does not think voter fatigue will be an issue because British Columbians are accustomed to elections every four years, but said the core problem is the work required to cast an informed vote.
MacKenzie also said municipal elections can have low voter turnout and that competing with the more visible provincial campaign could siphon attention. Ramsay, whose report says she is pursuing a third term on city council, said she is hoping there is activity at the polls but believes voters may favour one election over the other at the end of the day.
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