The Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees Canadian citizens the right to run for office in a provincial election. You can run in a provincial election in B.C. if you are:
You can only run in one electoral district at a time and you do not need to live in the electoral district you are running in.
Municipal councillors, school trustees, and other local officials can run in provincial elections. Sitting judges of the Supreme Court or Court of Appeal and members of the House of Commons can’t run in provincial elections.
If you want to be associated with a registered political party on the ballot, you must seek the nomination from the political party before submitting nomination documents to Elections BC.
Follow the instructions under How to file below to submit your application. Before filing a nomination application for the next provincial general election, contact Elections BC at 1-800-661-8683 or at electoral.finance@elections.bc.ca.
Candidate nominations can be submitted by using the Candidate Nominations Application System (CNAS) or by completing and submitting the provincial candidate nomination application forms. Completed forms can be submitted to electoral.finance@elections.bc.ca. We encourage candidates to file nomination documents as early as possible.
At any time before the close of nominations, CNAS allows candidates to complete forms electronically and pay the nomination deposit using a credit card. To access CNAS, create an account in Elections BC Services:
Before an election, candidates can file standing nominations with the Chief Electoral Officer by mail or in person. Standing nominations can be filed at any time until the day before a scheduled general election is called, or for a by-election or unscheduled general election, until the second day after the election is called.
After an election or by-election is called, candidates can file ordinary nominations with the District Electoral Officer in the electoral district they wish to run in. District electoral offices will be open when the election is called.
For more information about when and how to file a provincial candidate nomination application, read the How to Apply to be a Provincial Candidate guide.
If you have questions or need assistance, contact us at 1-800-661-8683 or at electoral.finance@elections.bc.ca.
Toll-Free: 1-800-661-8683
TTY: 1-888-456-5448
electionsbc@elections.bc.ca
Toll-Free Fax: 1-866-466-0665s
