Election campaign period officially begins in B.C.

Saturday marks the official start of the B.C. election period, as writs will start being issued ahead of voting day on Oct. 19.

B.C.’s provincial election period begins when the province’s lieutenant-governor, on the advice of the premier, dissolves the legislature and issues orders to begin the official election campaign.

The chief electoral officer will then issue writs — official documents, issued in the name of the King, that state an election is underway — to each of the province’s 93 ridings, some of which have been changed from the previous election.

While pre-election campaigning has been happening since late July, the official election campaign beginning Saturday will mean B.C. residents are likely to start seeing more lawn signs and more large events.

In addition, the MLAs who were elected in the previous election will no longer be able to refer to themselves as such, and they are restricted from using public funds for the next month.

During the campaign period, election canvassers are allowed to distribute candidate information as before, and should not be unreasonably restricted while doing so.

However, property owners and managers are only obligated to give them access between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. local time each day during the election period.

The B.C. NDP’s David Eby and B.C. Conservatives’ John Rustad will each run in an election for the first time as party leaders.

B.C. Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau has already run for the premier’s job during the 2020 provincial election.

On Aug. 28, B.C. United, formerly the B.C. Liberals, announced it was suspending its campaign, and Leader Kevin Falcon offered his support to the B.C. Conservative Party.

B.C. United has decided not to run any candidates in the election. It was considering running a handful to ensure it is not deregistered as a party, but the party will still exist as long as it runs candidates in the election after this one, according to Elections B.C.

Andrew Watson, the communications director for Elections B.C., said the writs signal that expense limits are now in place for parties and candidates.

Canadian citizens who are 18 or older and who have been a resident of B.C. since April 18 this year can register to vote or update their voter information until Oct. 7. The phone registration on 1-800-661-8683 will close at 8 p.m. that night and the online registration will close at midnight.

“We do encourage voters to register or update their information early,” he told CBC News. “It will make the voting process faster and easier for you, but it’s not required. You can register or update your information at the polls.”

When does the province head to the polls?

British Columbians are scheduled to head to the polls on Oct. 19. However, advance voting is slated for Oct. 10 to 13, 15 and 16. 

Voters can also vote by mail. You can request a mail-in voting package here.

For those voting in person, multiple voting stations will be set up in each riding. For those planning to participate in advance voting, you can check this list of voting stations.

Anyone who wants to vote on election day can choose the most convenient voting station on this list.  

Candidate nominations close on Sept. 28, so the official list will be finalized after that date. Until then, you can get a tentative list of candidates here.