Your municipal government affects your daily life more than any other level of government.
Before we exercise our right to shape these communities through our vote, we pause to remember those for whom that right, and so many others, was taken away.
This voter guide serves 21 municipalities across Metro Vancouver, lands that have been home to Indigenous peoples since time immemorial. These are the ancestral and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), Kwantlen, Katzie, Semiahmoo, Qayqayt, Kwikwetlem, Matsqui, the treaty lands of the scəw̓aθən məsteyəxʷ (Tsawwassen First Nation), and many other First Nations.
For over a century, more than 150,000 Indigenous children across Canada were taken from their families and placed in residential schools. Thousands never returned. British Columbia was home to numerous residential schools, institutions that operated on these very lands, in the communities you will read about in this guide.
The harm did not end when the last school closed. Survivors and their descendants continue to live with the intergenerational trauma of cultural erasure, family separation, and abuse, in the neighbourhoods where we vote, the schools our children attend, and the services our councils fund.
Reconciliation is not a single moment or a line in a document. It is woven into every decision we make as communities, including who we choose to lead them. As you use this guide, we ask you to consider how your vote can honour the past and help build a more just future for Indigenous peoples.
If you or someone you know needs support:
Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419 (24/7)
Indian Residential Schools Survivors Society: 1-800-721-0066
National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, nctr.ca
In the spirit of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's 94 Calls to Action, we encourage all voters to learn about the Indigenous communities in your municipality and to consider how local governance can advance meaningful reconciliation.
Your municipal government is the level of government that most directly impacts your daily life. While federal and provincial elections get more media attention, it's your city council that decides what happens in your neighborhood, on your street, and in your community.
Your municipal councillors decide where new housing is built, whether your neighborhood park gets upgraded, how much your property taxes increase, and what services your community receives. On October 17, 2026, you have the power to choose who makes these decisions.
Not registered to vote yet? It takes about two minutes online.
Register to vote, Elections BCEvery step below applies across BC. Your municipality may add extra advance voting days and mail-ballot options. Check its election page (linked in each municipality profile).
You can vote if you are 18 or older on voting day, a Canadian citizen, a BC resident for at least 6 months, and a resident (or registered property owner) in the municipality. Internet and phone voting are not available in BC local elections.
Sources: Elections BC: 2026 General Local Elections · Province of BC: General Local Elections
Click a region on the map or select from the grid below
Click on your community above to see who's running, what's being decided, and how to participate in the 2026 election
Recent reporting on the 2026 municipal elections from local news outlets. Headlines link to the original articles; select a municipality above for its local coverage.
This is an independent, volunteer-run project built by a Metro Vancouver resident to make local elections easier to follow. It is not affiliated with any government, political party, or candidate, and it endorses no one.
Facts are compiled from official municipal websites, BC open data, and local news reporting, with source links throughout. Election news and candidacy updates refresh automatically every six hours; the candidate lists change only after a person verifies the reports.
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