This October 17, municipal elections will be taking place in cities and towns across the province. British Columbians will be electing representatives for their local city councils, school boards, regional districts, island trusts, commissions, and parks boards.
The stakes in these local elections are high for workers. Local governments play an important role in making housing more affordable, creating good city jobs, and delivering local services like parks, libraries, and community centres that working families rely on. Local school boards can make sure our public schools are safe, welcoming places where kids across the city can learn and thrive.
We need to make sure worker-friendly leaders who share our values are elected.
“Local governments, school boards and park boards make decisions that directly impact our day-to-day lives,” says Lynn Bueckert, HEU secretary-business manager. “That’s why it’s important to ensure that workers’ voices are well-represented in local government and governing bodies.”
Labour councils across the province thoroughly research candidates to determine if they are representatives who will have workers’ interests in mind. HEU encourages members to support and vote for the labour-endorsed candidates in their municipality.
Labour-endorsed candidates can be found here: https://canadianlabour.ca/sct/BC.
HEU members will be sent poll cards from the in the mail that indicate who the labour-endorsed candidates are in your region and may also receive communications from your labour council with voting information and key dates.
“Municipal elections often come down to a handful of votes,” says Bueckert. “If enough of us vote for pro-worker candidates on October 17, we can make the difference.” Advance voting dates vary from city to city. Be sure to check your local government website and Elections BC (www.elections.bc.ca) for information on advance voting and general voting day.