With an Oct. 24 snap provincial election confirmed, British Columbia mayors are voicing displeasure over what are now dueling municipal and provincial election campaigns.
“I stand beside my fellow mayors that are just pissed off,” said Delta Mayor George Harvie.
“I never usually use that word, but in this case it’s very insulting to me that they would call an election during an active period of local government elections in B.C.”
Election day in 187 provincial municipalities and regional districts is Saturday, Oct. 17, with voters being called back to the polls one week later to elect provincial legislators.
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Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim echoed Harvie’s discontent, saying the snap provincial election call shows a lack of respect for municipalities.
“What is the harm in waiting 25 days until Vancouver and every other community in the province has finished voting? There is no version of this where calling now, instead of after Oct. 17, serves anyone [other than] the governing party’s own interest,” said Sim.
B.C. NDP Leader David Eby name-checked U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly during the election announcement, stating that B.C. needs a new government to meet the “existential moment” created by Canada-U.S. trade conflicts.
But one of B.C.’s longest-serving mayors sees Eby’s reasoning as bald opportunism meant to deflect from his own record in government, while taking advantage of an opposition in disarray.
“I find this to be one of the more cynical moves I’ve ever seen in political life,” said Malcolm Brodie, who is not running for re-election after serving 25 years as mayor of Richmond.
“I’ve never heard anybody say that they don’t want our premier and prime minister to fight hard against the forces of MAGA and Trump and the U.S. tariffs … to get a mandate that nobody thinks the premier needs, he’s calling an early election to extend his mandate by an extra couple of years.”
Eby and the NDP won a slim majority in the 2024 provincial election. The party still held a majority in the Legislature when Eby dissolved government to call the election on Tuesday.
In Victoria, Mayor Marianne Alto said she was disappointed and frustrated by the provincial election call, saying it “undermines the importance of local government.”
“It can confuse voters, stoke disenfranchisement, and draws heavily on local resources that are already limited,” she said in a statement.
Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke said holding a provincial election in the middle of a municipal election will make it hard to reach voters.
“Turnout during municipal elections is already much lower than federal or provincial elections,” said Locke in a statement. “I am calling on all voters across Surrey and B.C. to stay engaged and informed during this confusing period.”
Brodie said he wonders if calling a provincial election early could ultimately backfire on the B.C. NDP by angering the electorate.
“Who knows what is going to happen,” he said. “But it may well not come out as the premier and others in the governing party believe.”
