BC Teachers' Council Elections

Elections for the BC Teachers’ Council are held every three years.

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 B.C. 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.

2021 Election Results 

The 2021 BC Teachers’ Council elections have been completed. Ballots were counted for four of the five zones on March 19, 2021. There was no election in one of the zones as only one candidate was nominated.

Fraser Zone:  

Jatinder Bir: declared elected

% of returned ballots: 2.1%

% of votes for elected candidate: 60.8%

Farid Azar: 70 

Jatinder Bir: 329 

Tara Olchowy: 142 

Interior Zone:

Shelley Balfour: declared elected

% of returned ballots: 2.3%

% of votes for elected candidate: 82.3%

Shelley Balfour: 218 

Danielle Neer: 47 

Northern Zone:

Lisa Kishkan: declared elected

% of returned ballots: 3.2%

% of votes for elected candidate: 78.9%

Donald Fajemisin: 30 

Lisa Kishkan: 112 

Vancouver Coastal Zone:

Marjorie Dumont: declared elected

% of returned ballots: 2.6%

% of votes for elected candidate: 81.6%

Marjorie Dumont: 337  

John O'Flynn: 76  

Vancouver Island Zone:

Alice Kedves: 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. 

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.