On Saturday, October 17th, 2026 -- voters in the Cariboo-Chilcotin will vote for Mayors, Councillors, Electoral Area Directors' and School Trustees to start a new 4 year term commencing November 1st, 2026 until November 1st, 2030
Local elected officials (Mayors, Councillors, Electoral Area Directors and School Trustees) in the Cariboo-Chilcotin (Wells, Quesnel, Williams Lake, 100 Mile House, Cariboo RD and School Districts #27/28 - Cariboo-Chilcotin/Quesnel) -- will be taking the time, over the next 6-7 months, to reflect with their families, friends and supporters' to decide if they have the "fire in their bellies" for another 4 year term or call it a day and retire.
Typically, current locally elected officials will usually announce in the June/July/August period prior to General Voting Day, if they are seeking re-election. If they are not seeking re-election, some may announce earlier than that (June to August of 2026) so people can reflect about seeking election to local office (Area Director, Mayor, Councillor or School Trustee) and understand the time and other commitments involved before "putting their name in the ring"
Prince George Citizen wrote earlier this year in wishing to see better voter turn out in the 2026 BC Local Government Elections (Mayor, Councillor, Electoral Area Director, School Trustee) - click
here
Some good provincial resources to help you decide if you want to run in Fall 2026 BC Local Government elections or Board of Education elections
iii) Elections BC Information for Local Candidates (Incumbents or Challengers) for 2026 Local Elections --
Local Government Election Resources (please note, information provided is preliminary at this time and will be updated later on as Cariboo-Chilcotin Local Government Chief Election Officers or their designates populate information relevant to the 2026 Local Elections by May or June of 2026):
A rough timeline of the 2026 Cariboo-Chilcotin Local Election Period:
* First Two Weeks in August 2026 -- Nomination Packages available from Cariboo-Chilcotin Local Government Chief Election Officers' (Wells, Quesnel, Williams Lake, 100 Mile House, Cariboo RD and School Districts #27 (Cariboo-Chilcotin) and School District #28 (Quesnel))
* September 1, 2026 -- 10 Day Nomination Period commences where Chief Election Officers' or their Deputy can formally receive fully completed Nominations for Mayor, Councillor, Electoral Area Director or School Trustee — please note that Chief Election Officers cannot legally accept completed nomination packages for elected office prior to September 1, 2026
* September 11, 2026 at 4pm sharp! -- close of 10 Day Nomination Period
* September 18, 2026 -- Formal Declaration of Election by Voting/Election by Acclamation from the Chief Election Officers' or their Deputy
* October 2026 -- 2 Advanced Voting Opportunities
* Saturday, October 17, 2026 -- General Voting Day for Cariboo-Chilcotin Local Government Elections (Mayors, Councillors, Electoral Area Directors and School Trustees)
* Tuesday, October 20, 2026 at 4pm -- formal declaration of 2026 election results for Mayors, Councillors, Electoral Area Directors' and School Trustees
* November 2026 -- Inaugural Meetings of Municipal Councils, Boards' of Education (School Districts #27/#28 -- Quesnel/Cariboo-Chilcotin) and the Cariboo Regional District Board of Directors’
* January 15, 2027 -- Campaign Financial Disclosure Form due in to Elections BC
* February 16, 2027 -- Campaign Financial Disclosure Form due in to Elections BC, with late filing fee of $500. If candidate is unsuccessful and does not provide Campaign Financial Disclosure Form to Elections BC by this date, they are disqualified from running in 2030 Local General Elections (Mayor, Councillor, Area Director or School Trustee). If the candidate was elected and does not file the necessary Campaign Financial Disclosure Form by this date to Elections BC -- they cease to hold office as of this date (seat declared vacant), as per Section 64(2a) of the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act (BC)
Some Food for Thought:
1) Some wise words from former Kamloops Councillor Arjun Singh (thank you to him for allowing me to share his thoughts on Local Government General Elections - see below in italics)
"One year from now (October 2026) -- BC will have the opportunity to elect their local government or school trustee representatives. Those fortunate to be elected to a council (mayor/councillor) or a regional district area director (or school trustee) will have an amazing opportunity to help shape the future of the municipality or regional district/school district and also to work on a great diversity of opportunities and challenges.
Local governments (Municipalities/Regional Districts) manage or advocate for roads, walking and cycle paths, drinking water, sewage, recycling and solid waste, parks and recreation, residential and commercial development, and so many other critical and important services. It is important to vote for the candidate(s) you think are best to help create and shape policy and represent the community (municipality) or Electoral Area as a whole. Have you considered putting your name forward to serve on a council, regional or school board? I’ve run in previous civic elections, having been elected 4 times to Kamloops City Council, and have also had the opportunity to help train local government elected folks across BC.
Here are 3 tips that I have found helpful in being a successful council candidate - these tips apply to regional board elections as well:
i) Be a community builder, not a community buster: it’s easy to criticize, to assign blame, and to go negative. Much more rewarding and challenging is to work to find solutions to complex problems, to generally believe in others, to take a positive can-do approach, and to engage the widest diversity of people to build up communities together.
ii) Take time to learn about what councils, regional board or boards of education actually do: local governments, provincial governments, federal government, and indigenous governments all have sets of roles and responsibilities. These can be distinct, such as the federal governments responsibility for the criminal code, and they sometimes overlap, as with all orders of governments have different and complementary roles in the provision / enabling of housing. There can be misunderstandings of what local governments are generally responsible for. Some of the best ways to what specific local government do are to read that local government’s annual reports for the past 4 years and to view past or current council / board meetings, agendas, and/or minutes.
iii) Embrace tough issues and bold opportunities: Even while adopting a community builder approach, we have to acknowledge there are very tough challenges local governments have not addressed as well as we need to. Tough issues today often seem to be much tougher that tough issues in the past. A community builder approach sees bold opportunities in addressing these challenges well. Doing this requires collaboration with a whole range of community members, city council and staff colleagues, and other orders of government. Governments of all types and stripes often move too slowly in working on pressing community issues"
2) Well known Governance Advisor George Cuff (who is the former Mayor of Spruce Grove, Alberta for 4 terms) talks about some of the things that incumbent elected officials will be considering over the next number of months in deciding whether to seek re-election or "call it a day" --
https://www.municipalworld.com/feature-story/facing-tough-reality/
Finally:
As I always have, I will continue to let people know about local government matters in the Cariboo-Chilcotin, including in my own Electoral Area, in the remainder of 2025 as well as in 2026 and then it'll be over to the voters, including in my Electoral Area, to judge how well their local government or Board of Education has performed (including myself as the Cariboo RD Area "D" Director) and if incumbents should be allowed to continue for another term or not, as well as electing people to local office, whether for the first time or back to elected office after time away
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