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BC Teachers' Council Elections

Last updated on March 27, 2024

Elections for the BC Teachers’ Council are held every three years. The next election will be in the spring of 2027. 

Know your election zone

The election zones correspond with the five regional health authorities. One election takes place in each election zone:

  • Fraser Zone
  • Interior Zone
  • Northern Zone
  • Vancouver Coastal Zone
  • Vancouver Island Zone

Certificate holders can only vote or run for election in the zone where they live.

Eligibility for nomination

To be eligible for nomination, an educator must:

  • Hold a valid British Columbia teaching certificate
  • Live in the zone they plan to run in
  • Be a practising teacher who, in the past two years, completed one of the following duties:
    • Design, supervise and assess educational programs
    • Instruct, assess and evaluate individual students and groups of students

Electoral candidates must be nominated by ten certificate holders who also live in the same zone.

2024 Election Results  

The 2024 BC Teachers’ Council elections have been completed. Ballots were counted for four of the five zones on March 20, 2024. There was no election in one of the zones as only one candidate was nominated.

Northern Zone
Lisa Kishkan: declared elected

An election did not take place in this zone. Pursuant to section 21 of the Teachers Act, if there is only a single candidate nominated, the minister must declare that the candidate is elected as the council member in the zone.

Fraser Zone
Gunita Gupta: declared elected 

% of returned ballots: 2.5% total of 668 votes
% of votes for winning candidate: 50.4%
Gunita Gupta: 337 votes
Shanee Prasad: 331 votes

Interior Zone
Danielle Neer: declared elected 

% of returned ballots: 2.8% total of 346 votes
% of votes for winning candidate: 62.1%
Leanne Atkinson: 131 votes
Danielle Neer: 215 votes

Vancouver Coastal Zone
Jelana Bighorn declared elected

% of returned ballots: 3.5% total of 566 votes
% of votes for winning candidate: 57.8%
Jelana Bighorn: 327 votes
Emily Lacock: 123 votes
John O’Flynn: 116 votes

Vancouver Island Zone
Carol Arnold: declared elected 

% of returned ballots: 3.5% total of 454 votes
% of votes for winning candidate: 57.0%
Carol Arnold: 259 votes
Scott Benwell: 195 votes

Taking office

A person elected to the BC Teachers' Council must take and sign, by oath or by solemn affirmation, a prescribed Oath Of Office (PDF) in accordance with section 11 of the Teachers Act.