VANCOUVER — The polls have closed in B.C.’s municipal elections.

Residents voted for local representatives on councils, school boards and other regional posts, choosing from 3,500 candidates across the province.

It was quiet at Vancouver’s city hall voting place Saturday, with about half a dozen voters casting their ballots and no lineups.

At the nearby SkyTrain station, volunteers with COPE stood with signs asking voters to “evict Ken Sim,” the city’s incumbent mayor, who is running for re-election.

The group was also present near Commercial-Broadway station, where Greens candidate Pete Fry campaigned with volunteers earlier in the day.

Advance voting in the provincial general election is also taking place Saturday and will continue until Oct. 21, ahead of final voting day on Oct. 24.

NDP Leader David Eby’s decision to call a snap election two years early and in the middle of the planned municipal election period has been denounced by local and opposition politicians.

The Union of B.C. Municipalities passed a resolution at its annual convention last month imploring Eby not to call an election during the local campaign period, but days later he set off the provincial vote.

Cori Ramsay, who was the president of the union at the time of the resolution, said since then that the two elections have caused voter confusion and local campaigns lost staff to provincial candidates.

Many cities and municipalities have nevertheless reported increased or even record turnout at advance polls, including Vancouver, Richmond, Burnaby, Kamloops, Surrey, Kelowna, Prince George, Cranbrook and View Royal, among others.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2026.