Island Trust election October 17

Island Trust Election, October 17, 2026

At the Community Hall, 8 am to 8 pm

In B.C. local government elections—municipal elections and regional district electoral-area elections—there are two main ways to qualify to vote: as a resident elector or as a non-resident property elector. Government of British Columbia

1. Resident electors

You can vote in the jurisdiction where you live if you:

• are 18 or older (or will be 18 by general voting day);
• are a Canadian citizen;
• have lived in British Columbia for at least six months immediately before registering;
• are a resident of the municipality or electoral area when you register; and
• are not otherwise legally disqualified from voting. Government of British Columbia

Importantly, under the current Local Government Act, there is no longer a requirement that you have lived in that particular municipality or electoral area for 30 days. You do, however, need the six months of B.C. residency. BC Laws

2. Non-resident property electors

This is particularly important for a place like Hornby Island, where many property owners have their principal residence elsewhere.

Someone who does not live on Hornby but owns property there can potentially vote in the local government election as a non-resident property elector. They must:

• be 18 or older;
• be a Canadian citizen;
• have lived in B.C. for at least six months;
• have been the registered owner of real property in the jurisdiction for at least 30 days; and
• not otherwise be disqualified. Government of British Columbia

So, for example, a person whose principal residence is in Vancouver but who owns a house on Hornby could potentially vote in Vancouver as a resident elector and vote on Hornby as a non-resident property elector. Someone who owns a Hornby property but lives in Alberta, Ontario or another country cannot, because a non-resident property elector must still have been a B.C. resident for at least six months. Government of British Columbia

There are a couple of important restrictions. If several people jointly own one Hornby property, only one of them can vote as the non-resident property elector for that property, and the majority of the owners must designate that person in writing. And corporations do not get a vote—you cannot qualify simply because your company owns the property. Government of British Columbia

Also, owning several properties in the same electoral area does not give you several votes. You get only one vote in that jurisdiction.