Electors living on Reserve

General local elections are held every four years on the third Saturday of October. The next general voting day is Saturday, October 17, 2026. Voting places are open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. local time on general voting day.

Voting in general local elections

In the Local Government Act “local governments” are defined as a municipality or a regional district. For the purposes of local government elections, reserves are considered within the legal boundaries of a local government, unless otherwise specified within the Letters Patent. This means that individuals that live on reserve land may be eligible to participate in a local government election if they meet the eligibility criteria of a resident elector.

• Learn more about voter eligibility

Determining where to vote

Letters Patent are the legal document that creates a local government, including setting out its boundaries. Where a resident living on reserve land votes depends on whether the lands are included within a municipal or regional district electoral area boundary as set out in the municipality’s and/or regional district’s Letters Patent. Depending on what is in the Letters Patent, a reserve that looks like it is inside a municipality may in fact be considered wholly or partly within an electoral area of a regional district.

Possible scenarios:

Residents of each reserve are encouraged to contact the nearest local government to confirm where they are eligible to vote. Contact information for all local governments can be found online at www.civicinfo.bc.ca/directories