Close X
Tuesday, October 29, 2024
ADVT 
National

B.C. smashes advance voting record with a million ballots already cast

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 17 Oct, 2024 11:48 AM
  • B.C. smashes advance voting record with a million ballots already cast

Elections BC says a record number of British Columbians have already cast their ballots in advance voting before Saturday's provincial election.

The elections body says just over a million people have voted, representing more than 28 per cent of all registered electors and putting the province on track for big overall turnout.

They include about 223,000 people who voted on the final day of advance voting on Wednesday, the last of six days of advance polls, shattering the one-day record set just a day earlier by more than 40,000 votes.

Some ridings have already seen turnout of more than 35 per cent. 

The previous record for advance voting in a B.C. election was set in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, when about 670,000 people voted early, representing about 19 per cent of registered voters. 

Total turnout in the 2020 election was 54 per cent, down from about 61 per cent in 2017.

 

MORE National ARTICLES

Two B.C. community newspapers publish their last editions this week

Two B.C. community newspapers publish their last editions this week
Two newspapers in British Columbia are publishing their last editions this week, eliminating coverage by community papers for a large swath of the province's northeast. Glacier Media announced it is shutting down both the Dawson Creek Mirror and the Alaska Highway News out of Fort St. John.

Two B.C. community newspapers publish their last editions this week

Urn stolen in North Vancouver

Urn stolen in North Vancouver
Mounties in North Vancouver are asking for the public's help in locating an urn stolen from a car over the weekend. R-C-M-P say they received multiple reports of vehicle break-ins on West 21st Street around 10:30 Saturday morning.  

Urn stolen in North Vancouver

B.C. to bring in law forcing Surrey to go with municipal police force

B.C. to bring in law forcing Surrey to go with municipal police force
British Columbia Solicitor General Mike Farnworth has introduced legislation that will require the City of Surrey to provide policing with a municipal force in the latest jurisdictional salvo over the RCMP and the Surrey Police Service. The update in the Police Act also gives the province the authority to cancel the RCMP contract it has with Surrey, B.C.'s second most populous city behind Vancouver.   

B.C. to bring in law forcing Surrey to go with municipal police force

Fifth Canadian dies in Israel after Hamas attacks

Fifth Canadian dies in Israel after Hamas attacks
Global Affairs Canada has confirmed the death of a fifth Canadian in Israel after a series of attacks by Hamas militants, while Canadians in the besieged Gaza Strip still have no way to get out. Three other Canadians who were in Israel when the attacks happened Oct. 7 are still missing, officials said Sunday. Global Affairs did not provide details of the fifth person who died or those who are missing, citing privacy reasons.  

Fifth Canadian dies in Israel after Hamas attacks

First group of Canadians leave West Bank for Jordan as those in Gaza brace for worst

First group of Canadians leave West Bank for Jordan as those in Gaza brace for worst
Joly made the announcement this morning on X, the platform previously known as Twitter, thanking the Global Affairs staff who she says worked around the clock to make it happen. The federal government says 21 Canadians and foreign nationals took a bus out of the West Bank, a Palestinian territory that Israel has occupied since 1967, and where it has established settlements.

First group of Canadians leave West Bank for Jordan as those in Gaza brace for worst

B.C. to bring in new rules on short-term rentals to create more housing

B.C. to bring in new rules on short-term rentals to create more housing
Premier David Eby says the number of short-term rentals has ballooned in recent years and the government is taking action to reduce “profit-driven mini-hotel operators” by bringing in new enforcement tools. Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon introduced the bill in the legislature today, saying there has been "an explosion" of short-term rental units and this legislation will target areas with high housing needs.

B.C. to bring in new rules on short-term rentals to create more housing