Vancouver Votes Today: Mayor, Council and $790M Borrowing

Vancouver voters head to 85 voting places today, Saturday, Oct. 17, to elect a mayor, 10 city councillors, seven Park Board commissioners and nine School Board trustees, and to answer five yes-or-no questions that go well beyond choosing candidates.

Voting runs from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., according to Daily Hive’s voter guide, which reports that any voter can cast a ballot at any voting place in the city, not only the one nearest home. The same guide says 130 candidates are on the ballot across the four offices.

Three borrowing questions worth $790 million

The first ballot form asks whether the City can borrow a combined $790 million as part of its 2027-2030 capital plan, which the City of Vancouver describes as a $3.5-billion plan. The City’s election page lists three separate questions.

The largest, at $438 million, covers community-serving and civic essential infrastructure. That includes $338 million for community facilities such as community centres, pools, rinks, libraries, childcare and social facilities, and $100 million for other civic and cultural facilities, including fire halls, service yards and Vancouver Civic Theatres.

A $292-million question covers transportation and street infrastructure, including $154 million for bridges and structures (the City names the Granville and Cambie bridges), $92 million for pavement and sidewalks, and $46 million for traffic signals and street lighting. A $60-million question covers parks and open public spaces, including the seawall, pathways, playgrounds, playfields and sport courts.

Unlike the second ballot form, these questions have legal effect. The City says that if a majority votes yes on a question, Council can borrow the funds.

Two advisory plebiscite questions

The second ballot form carries two non-binding plebiscite questions that Council directed staff to add at a special meeting on Aug. 14, according to a City news release. The first asks whether the City should strengthen its laws to forbid open-air hard drug use in public spaces. The second asks whether the City should formally ask the Province of B.C. to convert part of the old St. Paul’s Hospital, or a similar site, into a secure medical facility with acute voluntary and involuntary care beds.

The City states the results will show Council what residents think but will not change any law or require Council to act. The release says voters may skip the plebiscite ballot, and that voters in the UBC and University Endowment Lands area are not eligible for it. The City’s release does not report a vote tally for Council’s decision to add the questions.

Record advance turnout

Advance voting ended Oct. 13. Daily Hive reports that 103,810 people voted across the four advance days (Oct. 3, 7, 10 and 13), including a single-day advance record of 29,096 on the final day. The outlet, citing the City, reports roughly 65,000 advance voters in 2022, and says the 2026 total equals about 61 per cent of the 171,494 ballots cast in the entire 2022 election. Advance voting ran five days in 2022 and four in 2026, but voting locations per day rose from 22 to 59, Daily Hive reports.

Those figures are advance voting only. Final turnout will not be known until election-day ballots and mail-in ballots are counted, and this report does not include results.

What voters need to bring

Registered voters should bring the Voter Information Card mailed in September, Daily Hive reports. People who are not registered can register at the voting place with two pieces of identification showing their name, one with an address and one with a signature. Examples include a B.C. driver’s licence, a Canadian passport, a bank statement or a utility bill, and electronic utility bills on a phone are accepted. A voter with only one piece of ID can make a solemn declaration of identity and address.

Voters must be Canadian citizens, at least 18 on Oct. 17, have lived in B.C. for at least six months before registering and live in Vancouver. Non-residents who have owned property in the city for at least 30 days may also qualify under additional rules.

Mail-in ballots must reach the City by 8 p.m. today. Daily Hive quotes the City on the point that a postmark before the deadline is not enough.

Sources: City of Vancouver, borrowing and plebiscite questions; City of Vancouver news release on the plebiscite; Daily Hive voter guide; Daily Hive on advance turnout.

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