B.C. headed back to the polls with nine potential byelections

It looks like many British Columbians may be heading back to the polls sooner than expected.

A wave of byelections is set to hit the province as ten municipal leaders prepare to leave their posts for a seat in Victoria.

The list includes seven councillors, two school trustees, and one mayor:

• Vancouver Councillor Christine Boyle, elected NDP MLA in Vancouver-Little Mountain
• Township of Langley Councillor Misty Van Popta, elected Conservative MLA in Langley-Walnut Grove
• Pentiction Councillor Amelia Boultbee, elected Conservative MLA in Penticton-Summerland
• Fruitvale Councillor Steve Morissette, elected NDP MLA in Kootenay-Monashee
• Esquimalt Councillor Darlene Rotchford, elected NDP MLA in Esquimalt-Colwood
• Sooke Councillor Dana Lajeunesse, elected NDP MLA in Juan de Fuca-Malahat
• Cowichan Valley Councillor Debra Toporowski, elected NDP MLA in Cowichan Valley
• West Vancouver School Trustee Lynne Block, elected Conservative MLA in West Vancouver-Capilano
• Coquitlam SD43 Trustee Jennifer Blatherwick, elected NDP MLA in Coquitlam-Maillardville
• (Former) Barriere Mayor Ward Stamer, elected Conservative MLA in Kamloops-North Thompson

Provincial law mandates that a byelection must occur no later than 80 days after the Chief Election Officer is appointed, usually within weeks of a formal resignation.

Nathanael Lauster, an associate professor of sociology at UBC, believes the number of byelections could provide a valuable opportunity to gauge voter sentiment following the lengthy and tense BC election.

“There may also be some connection as to how people are feeling about provincial parties,” Lauster told 1130 NewsRadio.

However, he notes that voter turnout is likely to be a stark contrast to the millions who participated in the October polls.

“Voter engagement gets stronger as you go up towards higher levels of government. So in that sense, these municipal elections, I wouldn’t expect turnout to be as high regularly, let alone when we’ve had such recent elections fervour that people might just be exhausted and not paying attention as it is.”

Lauster is most intrigued by the byelection process in Vancouver, which is likely to happen early next year. As OneCity councillor Christine Boyle steps into her new role as NDP MLA for Vancouver-Little Mountain, leaving two councillors not aligned with Mayor Ken Sim’s ABC majority.

“This will be a chance to actually get some insight into how people are feeling about ABC…not as the challengers, but as the incumbent party.”

On Tuesday, Boyle announced on X that she has formally requested to begin unpaid leave as soon as it receives council approval, “with the intention to formally resign in December.”