polls open 8 a.m. Saturday

Vancouverites are set to vote in a midterm byelection to select two new city councillors Saturday.

There are 25 voting places open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., located at City Hall and in community centres around Vancouver. The city says the locations are not assigned, meaning residents can cast a ballot wherever most convenient.

Self-described non-partisan political educator Jessica Lar-Son says byelections are easily forgotten, as shown by historically low voter turnout.

Lar-Son spends her time trying to convince more people to vote.

“I always want to encourage people to use that privilege of being able to vote, to be able to influence the people who make decisions about our day-to-day lives,” said Lar-Son.

The byelection comes as long-time Coun. Adriane Carr announced her resignation from council in January, and Coun. Christine Boyle resigned after being elected to B.C.’s legislature in October of 2024.

Stewart Prest, a political science lecturer at UBC, says the added attention may have to do with the fact that two seats are in contention.

“Perhaps there is additional frustration among voters given a number of controversial moves and attempted moves by the governing ABC [Party],” said Prest.

But he says it’s also possible that parties are increasingly using advance polling to get out their vote.

A record 7,671 advance ballots were counted over the advance-voting days, making for an incredible 84 per cent increase from Vancouver’s last byelection in 2017.

There are 13 candidates vying for the two seats. Among them are Vancouver Police Union President Ralph Kaisers and tech business leader Jaime Stein, running with ABC; environmental lawyer and transportation advocate Lucy Maloney with One City; housing advocate and blogger Sean Orr with COPE; former Coun. Colleen Hardwick and urban researcher Theodore Abbott with TEAM; and Anette Reilly with the Vancouver Green Party.

Unofficial results are expected after the polls close.

Looking for more coverage on the byelection? You can watch The Leader Spirit 24/7 live or listen live to 1130 NewsRadio Vancouver to keep up to date. You can also subscribe to breaking news alerts.

—With files from Michael Williams