It’s officially Election Day in B.C.’s 2024 provincial election.

After a record-breaking turnout during advanced voting, BC Votes 2024 is likely going to be one for the history books. This also marks the first provincial election with new riding boundaries, which increased the number of seats in the legislature to 93 from 87.

Roughly 1,001,331 people cast their ballot during the six days of advanced voting that ended Wednesday, compared to 671,231 in the 2020 snap election. The total number of vote-by-mail ballots has not been released by Elections BC. In 2020, 478,900 returned vote-by-mail packages by deadline, roughly 66 per cent of packages requested.

This election, B.C. has also moved to electronic voting tabulation, in efforts to streamline voting and results. However, in close races, ballots will be recounted by hand.

Final counting of votes is set for Oct. 26-28.

Haven’t voted? There’s still time. Here’s what you need to know:

Polling locations:

Voting places will be available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time. This year, Saanich South voters can cast their ballot at any voting location:

- Claremont Sec School 4980 Wesley Rd.

- Cordova Bay Elem School 5238 Cordova Bay Rd.

- Glanford Middle School 4140 Glanford Ave.

- Keating Elem School 6843 Central Saanich Rd.

- Lake Hill Elem School 1031 Lucas Ave.

- Lochside Elem School 1145 Royal Oak Dr.

- McKenzie Elem School 4005 Raymond St. N

- Northridge Elem School 4190 Carey Rd.

- Prospect Lake Elem School 321 Prospect Lake Rd.

- Royal Oak Middle School 751 Travino Lane

- Spectrum Comm School 957 Burnside Rd. W

- St. Andrew's Regional High School 880 McKenzie Ave.

- Strawberry Vale Elem School 4109 Rosedale Ave.

- Willis Point Comm Centre 6933 Willis Point Rd.

Candidates running in the riding:

- Adam Kubel - Conservative Party

- Lana Popham - BC NDP

- Ned Taylor - BC Green Party

Voter registration: While eligible voters don’t have to register ahead of time to take part in the election, Elections BC recommends British Columbians sign up ahead of time in order to avoid lengthy lineups.

Voters can register or update their information online at elections.bc.ca/ovr or by calling 1-800-661-8683.

To be eligible, British Columbians must be able to show one of the following pieces of identification: - A B.C. driver’s licence - A B.C. Identification Card - A B.C. Services Card, with photo - A Certificate of Indian Status - Another card issued by the B.C. government, or Canada, that shows your name, photo and address

Polls are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Greater Victoria News Staff

Listen to this article 00:04:37

It’s officially Election Day in B.C.’s 2024 provincial election.

After a record-breaking turnout during advanced voting, BC Votes 2024 is likely going to be one for the history books. This also marks the first provincial election with new riding boundaries, which increased the number of seats in the legislature to 93 from 87.

Roughly 1,001,331 people cast their ballot during the six days of advanced voting that ended Wednesday, compared to 671,231 in the 2020 snap election. The total number of vote-by-mail ballots has not been released by Elections BC. In 2020, 478,900 returned vote-by-mail packages by deadline, roughly 66 per cent of packages requested.

This election, B.C. has also moved to electronic voting tabulation, in efforts to streamline voting and results. However, in close races, ballots will be recounted by hand.

Final counting of votes is set for Oct. 26-28.

Haven’t voted? There’s still time. Here’s what you need to know:

Polling locations:

Voting places will be available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time. This year, Saanich North and the Islands voters can cast their ballot at any voting location:

- Bayside Middle School 1101 Newton Pl., Central Saanich

- Community Gospel Chapel 147 Vesuvius Bay Rd., Salt Spring Island

- Deep Cove Elem School 10975 West Saanich Rd., North Saanich

- Fernwood Elem School 150 Fernwood Rd, Salt Spring Island

- Friendship Comm Church 7820 Central Saanich Rd., Central Saanich

- Fulford Comm Elem School 203 South Ridge Dr., Salt Spring Island

- Galiano Lions Hall 992 Burrill Rd., Galiano Island

- Gulf Islands Sec School 232 Rainbow Rd., Salt Spring Island

- Holy Trinity Church 1319 Mills Rd., North Saanich

- Mary Winspear Centre 2243 Beacon Ave., Sidney

- Mayne Island Comm Centre 493 Felix Jack Rd., Mayne Island

- North Saanich Middle School 10400 McDonald Park Rd., North Saanich

- Panorama Rec Centre 1885 Forest Park Dr., North Saanich

- Peace Lutheran Church 2295 Weiler Ave., Sidney

- Saanich North and the Islands Pender Islands School 5714 Canal Rd., North Pender Island

- Saanich North and the Islands SHOAL Centre 10030 Resthaven Dr., Sidney

- Saturna Island Rec Centre 104 Harris Rd., Saturna Island

- Stelly's Sec School 1627 Stellys Cross Rd., Central Saanich

- Tsawout First Nation Gym 7728 Tetayut Rd., Central Saanich

Candidates running in the riding:

- Rob Botterell - BC Green Party - David Busch - Conservative Party - Amy Haysom - Independent - Sarah Riddell - BC NDP

Voter registration: While eligible voters don’t have to register ahead of time to take part in the election, Elections BC recommends British Columbians sign up ahead of time in order to avoid lengthy lineups.

Voters can register or update their information online at elections.bc.ca/ovr or by calling 1-800-661-8683.

To be eligible, British Columbians must be able to show one of the following pieces of identification: - A B.C. driver’s licence - A B.C. Identification Card - A B.C. Services Card, with photo - A Certificate of Indian Status - Another card issued by the B.C. government, or Canada, that shows your name, photo and address

Expand

Listen to this article 00:09:40

In the lead-up to the Oct. 19 provincial election, Black Press Media asked the candidates in Saanich South a series of three questions.

What do you see as the most pressing issue for your riding, and what would you do to address it?

Adam Kubel – B.C. Conservatives: From what I hear on the doorsteps – it's the crisis in the B.C. health-care system. Everyone has a story of how the system isn’t meeting their needs, whether it be the long wait times, inadequate access to family physicians or burnout of care staff.

The new ‘Patients First’ model proposed by the B.C. Conservatives provides universal health care for everyone under a single-payer system that delivers care through both public and non-governmental facilities. We’ll be tackling the crumbling health-care system through a variety of techniques, such as: expanding programs to incentivize doctors and nurses to work in high-need communities, hiring back health-care workers who are currently out of work due to personal health-care decisions, and implementing new technologies such as telehealth and digital diagnostic tolls to reduce wait times and improve care. We’ll be protecting and supporting front-line staff by preventing illicit drug use in emergency rooms and hospitals, repealing the Health Professions and Occupations Act (Bill C-36) and removing ideology and political control imposed by the NDP.

Lana Popham – B.C. NDP: The biggest issues are affordable housing and access to health care. Vancouver Island is a great place to live, but housing is expensive. We are taking action to build a future where everyone can afford to live here. Here in Saanich, the new transit-oriented development for Uptown will provide hundreds of new homes. Across B.C., the speculation tax alone has made 20,000 new homes available, and our housing plan will deliver 300,000 middle-class homes. When it comes to health care, we want B.C. to be a place where health care is always there when you need it. We’ve opened a new Urgent and Primary Care Centre in Saanich South, and across the province in the last year alone we’ve hired 800 new family doctors and thousands of nurses. While more needs to be done, we are making progress.

Ned Taylor – B.C. Green Party: With thousands of residents not having a family doctor, I see health care as the biggest issue for Saanich South. B.C. Greens propose building community health-care centres as a means of directly addressing the family doctor shortage. Currently in B.C., family practitioners are forced to run their offices like businesses. They have to hire their own staff, find office space, and more. This puts a significant burden on doctors, who already have limited time. Furthermore, doctors aren’t trained to be business people, they’re trained to provide care to patients. Instead of this, we’re proposing transitioning to a model of community health-care centres, spaces provided by the province, where doctors, nurses, social workers, and others all work under the same roof. Doctors could move in and start doing what they do best – caring for patients. Not only would this lift a significant administrative load off of doctors, allowing them time to see more patients, but it would also make B.C. a more appealing place for doctors to practice, potentially attracting new doctors to this province. We need solutions for our health-care system so that everyone has access to the primary and preventative care that they need. This is one of these solutions.

How do you balance the need for housing affordability with homeowners’ desire to not lose money on their investment?

Popham: Our communities are growing quickly, and people need affordable homes close to public transit, amenities, shopping and services. New housing adds value to communities. It draws families to support existing local businesses and attracts new services, contributing to more desirable neighbourhoods and increased property values for homeowners. We must keep taking action to help people build a good life for themselves and their families.

Taylor: Addressing housing affordability doesn’t have to negatively impact homeowners. The housing crisis that we see today in British Columbia is a long-term issue; it is over 40 years in the making. It will require long-term strategies and investments to solve. We need a multi-pronged approach that both protects the current supply of affordable housing, and increases the number of new affordable units. Additionally, something that I think could be a real game-changer for housing affordability is co-op housing. While knocking on doors throughout Saanich South over the past seven months, I’ve had the chance to speak with numerous people living in co-op housing complexes. These housing options provide dignified, affordable housing for families and seniors. But here’s the problem – we stopped building new co-op housing decades ago. Part of the B.C. Green Party’s fully costed platform, released on Oct. 1, is to support the construction of new housing cooperatives with upfront investments, grants, and low-interest financing through government-backed construction loans and mortgage guarantees. Let’s bring back co-op housing as a key part of the equation for addressing housing affordability.

Kubel: Under the NDP, British Columbians have been stuck on an endless treadmill of rising costs and punishing taxes. People are being punished by having to pay for sky-high housing costs with their after-tax income and are being driven out of our cities because they can’t afford to live here anymore.

The Rustad Rebate is a real solution to help families stay in their homes, support the middle class, and provide relief to those being squeezed by high housing prices and rents. This bold plan is designed to help middle-class British Columbians cope with the mounting pressure of rent and mortgage payments. Our goal is simple: put more money in the pockets of British Columbians, reduce the cost of living, and finally get our housing market under control.

How would your party meet the public's demand for spending on health care, housing, transportation infrastructure, homelessness, etc., without raising taxes or ballooning the deficit?

Taylor: Everyone wants improved public services, but at the same time, nobody wants to pay more taxes in our increasingly expensive world. It’s the job of the government to balance these priorities in a way that responds to the most pressing issues of the day. In our 2024 platform, the B.C. Greens are introducing a well-being framework that invests back into communities: “Eliminating poverty, providing free public transit, and ensuring we have a world-class education system – none of this comes without a price. But inaction is far more expensive” (B.C. Greens platform, 2024). In this plan is a new vision for British Columbians, including new policy on tax. We need a systematic review of B.C.’s tax and transfer system, and ensure that major corporations are paying their fair share and contributing some of that exorbitant wealth back into the economy, back to British Columbia. We need to build back a resilient economy, and invest in solutions to the issues that British Columbians face, rather than quick fixes. I encourage you to go to the B.C. Greens website and read our fully costed, research-backed, and evidence-based 2024 platform that speaks to everything that I have mentioned in my answers today.

Kubel: It is immoral (and financially hazardous) to continue living beyond our means and leaving our children with the bill. David Eby and the B.C. NDP have demonstrated a complete lack of fiscal responsibility, leading British Columbians down a dangerous path of unsustainable spending and economic uncertainty.

Under a B.C. Conservative government, wasteful public sector spending will be eliminated, and the savings will be returned to the taxpayers and help cut down the deficit. With streamlining and efficiencies, we’ll be able to have a smaller government, while ensuring that money is spent wisely on the priorities that matter: health care, housing, transportation, and public safety.

We plan on unleashing the power of the private sector and encouraging growth and job creation by reducing useless and redundant regulations and streamlining permitting processes by creating a “one-stop” approval process. Our plan to create a fair and competitive tax structure will encourage long-term investment and make B.C. an attractive destination for the resource sector, resulting in job creation and stimulating our economy. These measures will bring in revenue for the province without resulting in tax increases or ballooning the deficit.

Popham: We are investing in services that have suffered deficits, including health care, housing, essential infrastructure, and childcare. David Eby cut the cost of childcare in half and is taking action to build thousands more spaces, benefiting more than 148,000 families and saving them over $2.2 billion since 2018. It means parents can go back to work, leaving more money in their pocket for everyday essentials – like groceries and clothes for kids. Investments like these are good for the B.C. economy and good for B.C. families. We’ve lowered costs for families by eliminating MSP premiums, making their car insurance more affordable, and providing rebates to help with electricity costs. A strong economy is how we pay for services and programs going forward.

About the Author: Black Press Media Staff

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B.C. Conservative Party Leader John Rustad said British Columbians need to have a conversation about nuclear power as part of a push toward energy independence.

"This is part of the conversation — what is that cost?" he said Tuesday (Oct.1), when asked about the idea. "We need to be able to be honest with people in British Columbia, make sure they know what prices are going to be...what are the options, what are the choices that we have in front of us, what are the impacts on rates, how do we make sure that we keep life affordable for people in British Columbia?"

Rustad made these comments as he presented his party's energy platform near Squamish. It includes a commitment to a small modular reactor (SMR) operating by 2035 — "if, and only if, the business case makes sense, seismic safety is addressed, and the idea has the confidence of the public."

SMRs are smaller, less powerful reactors than traditional systems. According to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, three SMRs currently operate globally: two in China, one in Russia. A fourth is under construction in Argentina.

SMRs have gained some political support because they can be used in a less centralized fashion. Instead of one large system feeding a multitude of users, multiple SMRs can be used to power specific users, from smaller communities to factories. Supporters point to advanced safety features. Both the United States and the United Kingdom are pushing forward with plans for such systems.

In Canada, five provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island) along with Yukon — supported by Ottawa — are exploring and advancing the technology. B.C. has historically relied on hydroelectricity and has no nuclear power plants.

Nuclear power has seen some setbacks with the rise of cheaper alternative energies and environmental concerns. Germany, fthe world's third-largest economy, recently shut off its last nuclear power plant as part of a broader energy transition. Ironically, climate change has also hurt the industry. France, which relies heavily on nuclear power, has had to shut off some reactors because rivers cooling those plants were running too low.

But nuclear power has nonetheless experienced a revival in other areas. The UK decommissioned its last coal-fired power plant on Sept. 30 and is now counting on SMRs as part of that transition. A French company is building the UK's first new nuclear power plant since the 1990s with more in the planning stage.

David Schlissel, IEEFA's director of resource planning analysis, wrote in 2023 that the costs of SMRs have been significantly higher than originally forecast.

"SMRs are simply too expensive and too time-intensive to play a significant role in transitioning from fossil fuels in the next 15 years, especially when affordable and deployable renewables are already here," he said on IEEFA's website.

Other critics of SMRs and nuclear power point to the costs of transporting and storing used-up radioactive material, and the associated risk. B.C.'s high degree of seismic activity, especially near major population centres, poses more risk.

Rustad has issued this call at past events. His appeal also echoes language found in a July report released by the B.C.-based Energy Futures Institute chaired by former environment minister Barry Penner. It notes B.C.'s current prohibition against nuclear power and calls for another look.

"(Given) B.C.'s ambitious GHG reduction legislation, rapidly increasing electricity demand and advances in nuclear power technology, along with its ability to provide a stable and low-carbon energy source at scale, the province may need to reassess this stance," it reads.

The public is also starting to pay attention. A September Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of the Energy Futures Institute finds 58 per cent of survey participants in favour of reviewing restrictions on nuclear power.

The Conservative platform calls for an end of "radical plans" by the B.C. NDP to ban natural gas as a stand-alone home heating source by 2030 in new homes. It would also roll back the requirement that all new automobile sales must be zero-emission vehicles by 2035.

Other elements call for speeding up B.C. Hydro's 10-year transmission and distribution capital plan and supporting the development of alternative renewable energy "where and when the economics make sense" for B.C. including wind, solar and run-of-river hydroelectricity.

Rustad said B.C. stands "at a crossroads" when it comes to energy. He said the current system is unable to meet future needs independently, with 17 per cent of B.C.'s energy coming from outside the province.

Josie Osborne, B.C. NDP candidate for Mid Island-Pacific Rim, questioned Rustad's proposals.

“We’ve worked hard to get hydro costs under control and make sure electricity is affordable for people and businesses,” she said. “John Rustad’s plan to build nuclear reactors and gas-fired plants would drive up electricity costs for families."

About the Author: Wolf Depner

I joined the national team with Black Press Media in 2023 from the Peninsula News Review, where I had reported on Vancouver Island's Saanich Peninsula since 2019.

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