British Columbia voters were choosing 93 Members of the Legislative Assembly, with preliminary results due after polls close at 11 p.m. ET (03:00 UTC Sunday), a vote that will determine control of government.
Elections BC scheduled polling from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. ET Saturday and said preliminary figures would come after voting ended. All 93 seats are being contested, and 47 seats make up a majority. The first tally is expected to include most advance and election-day ballots; vote-by-mail ballots and some absentee ballots will be counted later, the agency said.
Order in Council 410, approved Sept. 22, set Oct. 24 as election day, following the 2024 general election. EconoTimes previously detailed the 2026 voting date. Under the Constitution Act, the ordinary general voting day is the third Saturday in October in the fourth calendar year after the previous general voting day, subject to the lieutenant governor’s power to dissolve the legislature earlier.
BC NDP leader David Eby framed the campaign as a response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s attacks and called for a stronger provincial economy with less reliance on the United States, his campaign statement said.
Elections BC scheduled the final count for Nov. 6-10. Ballots outside the initial tally will be checked for eligibility then, and candidates are declared elected afterward unless there is a judicial recount, the agency said.
