Nearly 338,000 British Columbians cast their ballots during the first two days of advance voting in the 2026 provincial general election.
According to Elections BC’s preliminary figures, 137,352 people voted at advance voting locations on Friday, Oct. 16, followed by another 200,609 on Saturday, Oct. 17, bringing the combined total to 337,961 across the entire province.
The second day of advance voting overlapped with the civic elections’ main voting day held in communities across B.C. to elect a new mayor, city councillors, and other local representatives in municipal government.
The provincial election is an entirely separate vote in which British Columbians elect one MLA in each of the province’s 93 ridings, helping determine which party forms government and who becomes premier.
After six advance voting days, the provincial election’s main voting day — the final opportunity to participate — is this Saturday, Oct. 24, when polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
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The turnout on the second day of advance voting exceeded the first day by 63,257 voters, an increase of about 46 per cent. The two-day total was equivalent to approximately nine per cent of the province’s list of 3,738,182 registered voters, as of Oct. 14, or about one-in-10 registered voters.
The electoral district of Penticton-Summerland had the highest advance voting turnout province-wide, with 7,444 voters — 3,445 on the first day and 3,999 on the second.
Across the 12 Vancouver ridings, the reported figures totalled 37,345 advance voters, including 16,436 on Friday and 20,909 on Saturday.
Over the first two days of advance voting, Vancouver-Point Grey — the riding of Premier David Eby — recorded the highest combined count among these Vancouver ridings, with 4,671 voters, followed by Vancouver-Quilchena with 4,502, Vancouver-West End with 4,421, and Vancouver-Strathcona with 4,049.
Across the 10 Surrey ridings, including Surrey-White Rock, Elections BC recorded 36,234 advance voters over the first two days — 12,243 on Friday and 23,991 on Saturday. With 5,994 voters, Surrey-White Rock had the highest count in the area, followed by Surrey-Serpentine River with 5,362 and Surrey-Guildford with 4,156.
As voters can cast their provincial ballot at any advance voting location in B.C., these tallies do not necessarily show a count of voters who have voted within the geographical boundaries of their riding.
At this time, all turnout figures remain preliminary and subject to revision as Elections BC receives updated information. The preliminary turnout figures for advance voting on Sunday, Oct. 18 will be released this afternoon.
Advance voting continues for three more days: Monday, Oct. 19; Tuesday, Oct. 20; and Wednesday, Oct. 21, with advance locations open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on their scheduled days.
Many B.C. communities recorded higher civic election turnout, both during advance voting and on the main voting day. It remains to be seen how the highly unusual overlap of the civic election and provincial election — which was triggered by a snap election call by Premier Eby — will affect overall voter interest and participation.
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- City of Vancouver's 2026 civic election turnout tops over 43%, highest in over a decade
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