British Columbia

British Columbians head to the polls

Polls will close at 8 p.m. Pacific time.

Voting will close at 8 p.m. Pacific time

A composite image shows a man with white hair casting a ballot on the left, a woman posing for a photo in the middle, and a man with brown hair walking down a street, on the right.
B.C. political party leaders are pictured on election day on Saturday. From left to right: B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad casts his vote at Cluculz Lake Community Hall, B.C. Greens Leader Sonia Furstenau takes a post-vote photo at Sir James Douglas Elementary School, and B.C. NDP Leader David Eby walks to a candidate's Vancouver office, having already cast his ballot in advance voting. (James Doyle/The Canadian Press, Chad Hipolito/The Canadian Press, Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)

Polls in B.C.'s general election are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Pacific time on Saturday, Oct. 19.

British Columbians will be electing the next government in what has been a tight race between the B.C. NDP, led by David Eby and the Conservative Party of B.C., led by John Rustad.

Both parties have candidates in each of British Columbia's 93 ridings, while the B.C. Green Party, led by Sonia Furstenau, has 69 candidates in total.

There are also a record 40 Independents on ballots across the province, including six incumbent MLAs.

The opening hours of some polling stations were affected by power outages related to the atmospheric river pummeling parts of the province with heavy rain and wind. The most up-to-date information on polling station availability is on the Elections B.C. website.

Elections B.C. expects results to be returned quickly as it has adopted the use of laptops instead of paper lists for voting.

A record 1,001,331 took part in advance voting, representing more than 28 per cent of all registered electors.

Catch up on the campaign

WATCH | Breaking down the B.C. election: 

B.C.’s close and controversial election explained

1 month ago
Duration 5:44
With B.C.’s governing NDP and the insurgent Conservatives running neck and neck ahead of the provincial election, CBC's Lyndsay Duncombe breaks down how a party with just eight seats is within striking distance of winning — and why Greens and Independents could make all the difference.

For a quick comparison of where the parties stand on key issues, you can visit our party platform comparison:

You can also find a list of key stories and analyses by topic, including health care, climate change and public safety:

Still not enough? You can find all of our election stories here.

LISTEN | The B.C. election campaign so far:

How to vote

You can vote if you are a Canadian citizen who is 18 or older as of Oct. 19, 2024 and have been a resident of B.C. since April 18, 2024. 

You can find out where to vote using Elections B.C.'s Where to Vote app and website at wheretovote.elections.bc.ca.

In order to vote, you will need to prove your identity and address using ID or other documentation or, if that is not an option, have someone with identification formally vouch for you. Information on how to do so and valid identification can be found on the Elections B.C. website.

If you are uncertain of your riding, you can find it by entering your address here. A list of registered candidates in each riding can be found here.

Get the results live

On election night, Oct. 19, join CBC hosts from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. to watch and listen to BC Votes 2024 — a special evening of election programming featuring guest interviews and in-depth expert analysis on all CBC B.C. platforms.

Online: Stream on CBC News BCCBC Gem and cbc.ca/bc as well as on TikTok and YouTube.
TV: Live on CBC Television (check your TV service provider for channel).
Listen: Starting at 8 p.m. on CBC Radio One or listen online.