Oak Bay Election 2026

01 · Your voting plan

The dates worth putting in your calendar

Oak Bay votes locally on Saturday, October 17. The available in-person voting dates are below.

District of Oak Bay voting information ↗

02 · The local ballot

Who is running

The District’s official notice lists two candidates for mayor, nine for council and three for the Oak Bay school-trustee seat. Names are alphabetical by surname within each office. The order is for finding people, not ranking them. Candidate websites contain the candidates’ own material; linking to them does not independently verify their claims. A missing link means we have not verified a current one.

Official candidate declaration and election notice ↗

How the ballot works

For mayor and council, mark up to one mayor and up to six different councillors. You do not rank candidates, and you do not have to use every available council vote. Follow the instructions on the ballot, and ask an election official if anything is unclear. Marking more candidates than the seats available invalidates that contest’s ballot.

Local Government Act, sections 115 and 139 ↗

03 · Before you go

Can I vote?

To vote as an Oak Bay resident elector, you must:

• Be a Canadian citizen and at least 18 on October 17.
• Have lived in B.C. for at least six months immediately before registering.
• Live in Oak Bay when you register.
• Not be disqualified by law.

You do not have to own your home to qualify as a resident elector.

Eligibility and registration requirements ↗

Not registered? You can register when you vote.

Bring two pieces of identification showing identity and residency, including at least one with a signature. Photo ID is not required. The District says voters already on the voters list do not have to provide proof of identification.

District election FAQs, including ID ↗

Own property here but live elsewhere?

Separate non-resident-property rules apply. Check your circumstances with election staff rather than assuming property ownership gives you every ballot. The District says non-residents cannot vote for the Oak Bay SD61 trustee.

Non-resident guidance ↗

04 · The envelope route

Voting by mail without a last-minute scramble

All eligible Oak Bay electors can apply for a mail ballot until October 6 at 4:30 p.m. Packages can be collected at Municipal Hall or mailed to you. If collecting your own package, wait for the ready notification and bring one piece of photo ID. This pickup requirement is separate from registration ID at the polls.

After following the package instructions, return your package by mail or deliver it to Municipal Hall, 2167 Oak Bay Avenue, Victoria, BC V8R 1G2. The District also accepts completed packages at voting locations during voting hours.

The deadline is received by 8 p.m. on October 17, regardless of how the package travels. The District’s instructions include an after-hours mail slot at the Oak Bay Avenue entrance to Municipal Hall. Read the current return instructions before making the trip.

Request and return a mail ballot ↗

If you requested a package but have not received or returned it, the District says you can still vote in person. Tell election staff about the package. You may vote only once in this local election.

District mail-voting FAQs ↗

05 · Help is available

Need help at the voting place?

The District says all voting locations are wheelchair accessible. Election officials can help with marking a ballot; someone accompanying you may also assist under the required declaration.

Curbside voting is available at all voting opportunities. Park in a designated curbside voting stall, then call the posted number or ask someone accompanying you to notify staff inside.

For an accommodation or an unusual registration situation, ask election staff ahead of your visit.

Official accessibility and assistance information ↗

Meet the candidates before voting

These are community-hosted events. Check the organiser’s page before heading out; a scheduled forum does not guarantee every candidate will attend.

Municipal candidates fair

Tuesday, October 6, 7–9 p.m.
Oak Bay United Church Community Hall, 1355 Mitchell Street. The venue specifies the level-ground Granite Street entrance.

Venue’s event listing ↗

Oak Bay school-trustee forum

Tuesday, October 13, 7 p.m.
Dave Dunnet Community Theatre at Oak Bay High, 2121 Cadboro Bay Road.

Organiser’s event listing ↗

District listing ↗

What the jobs involve

Mayor and council

B.C. municipal councils make decisions collectively about local services and municipal affairs. The mayor has additional leadership responsibilities, but each council member, including the mayor, has one vote.

B.C.’s explanation of mayor and councillor roles ↗

School trustee

Trustees work as a board on school-district policy, budgets and strategic direction. An individual trustee cannot make the board’s decisions alone. Their responsibility extends to students throughout the district.

BC School Trustees Association’s role guide, hosted by SD61 (PDF) ↗

A little homework beyond the lawn signs

A campaign promise becomes easier to assess when you can see its cost, authority and timetable. Here are some starting points. These are background reading and questions, not a scorecard.

Taxes and the budget

The District’s 2026 budget page reports an 8.42% municipal tax increase. That figure describes the municipal budget; it is not a prediction of the change on every household’s bill.

2026 budget and financial plan ↗

Questions worth asking: Which service or project would change? Is the proposed spending one-time or ongoing? What pays for it, and what would be delayed or reduced instead?

Housing and planning

Oak Bay’s housing work includes local planning choices and provincial requirements. Its infill program was introduced through bylaw amendments in June 2024 in response to small-scale multi-unit housing legislation.

District infill-housing program ↗

Questions worth asking: Which rule would the candidate change? Can council make that change itself? How would the proposal affect approvals, infrastructure and the homes that actually get built? Keep a proposed home, an approved home and a completed home in separate columns.

The infrastructure underneath everyday life

Water pipes are unlikely to win a lawn-sign design contest. They do, however, need a plan.

The District’s asset-management work covers long-term replacement and funding for infrastructure. Its current resource page includes a 2026 capital-planning framework, as well as the earlier sustainable replacement plan.

Asset-management plans and reports ↗

Questions worth asking: Which assets come first, and why? What evidence sets that order? How will replacement be funded, and what is the cost or risk of waiting?

Checking a claim

Start with the document behind it. A motion, a staff recommendation, a council decision and a completed project are different things. When checking a past decision, read the surrounding item and its date rather than relying on a clipped quote.

Oak Bay council meetings, agendas and minutes ↗

09 · A separate election

And the provincial election

The October 24 provincial election elects MLAs to the B.C. Legislature. Its advance-voting dates are October 16–21. Provincial registration, mail-ballot rules and voting locations are separate from the municipal arrangements above.

Don’t assume your municipal voting place is also your provincial voting place.

Elections BC’s provincial election page ↗

Provincial voting options ↗

Read Oak Bay Local: Oak Bay votes twice in October

10 · The count

Results

As of our October 5 check, no 2026 local results yet. General voting day is October 17.

The District is the official source for the local count. Election-night preliminary results and formally declared results are different stages; check the status attached to any figures.

Official Oak Bay election page ↗

B.C. result rules, sections 144–146 ↗

11 · How this guide is made

Sources, method & corrections

This is a nonpartisan voter-service guide. It lists every officially declared candidate for the offices covered, uses the same ordering rule for each contest, and links to the sources behind the practical details. It does not rank candidates or recommend a vote.

Election procedures come from the District of Oak Bay and Elections BC. The school-trustee structure comes from SD61. We check dates, locations and candidate names against official notices. Campaign statements, if added, will be clearly attributed and treated consistently across candidates.

Last checked October 5, 2026. Check the linked official pages for any change after that date.

Spotted an error? Email a correction to Oak Bay Local with the detail and its source. Substantive corrections will be noted here.

Correction log: no substantive corrections recorded in this edition.