The much-anticipated Nanaimo provincial byelection will take place Jan. 30, Premier John Horgan announced Wednesday.
Horgan had said the byelection would take place before the February budget.
The NDP’s Sheila Malcolmson, B.C. Liberal Tony Harris and Green Michele Ney will vie to fill the seat left vacant by longtime NDP MLA Leonard Krog, who resigned in November after he was elected Nanaimo mayor.
The results of the byelection are crucial to the balance of power in B.C. because the NDP’s minority government is propped up by an alliance with the Green Party. Together, the NDP and Greens have 44 seats, just two seats more than the Liberals’ 42.
An NDP loss to the Liberals in the byelection would leave the B.C. legislature in a deadlock with a 43-43 tie, which could trigger a general election.
The seat is an NDP stronghold, where an NDP MLA has been elected in 13 of the past 15 elections. Krog won the seat handily in 2017 with 46 per cent of the vote.
However, a November poll by Mainstreet Research suggested that Malcolmson, former MP for Nanaimo, and Harris, a Nanaimo-based businessman, were in a dead heat.
Among decided and leaning voters, Malcolmson had 39.8 per cent support, while Harris had 38.2 per cent.
Candidate nominations close at 1 p.m. on Jan. 9, according to Elections B.C. Nominations can be filed with the chief electoral officer until 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 4 and after that, they can be filed with the Nanaimo District electoral officer until Jan. 9. More information can be found at elections.bc.ca/provincial-elections/provincial-candidates/.
Advance voting will be available over six days from Jan. 22 to Jan. 27 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Advance voting places and their opening hours will be published on the Elections B.C. website, in community newspapers and on Where to Vote cards that will be sent to Nanaimo voters before advance voting starts. All advance voting places are wheelchair accessible.
Voting stations on general voting day will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Voting is also available at the Nanaimo district electoral office at 201-65 Front St, Nanaimo, from now until 4 p.m. on general voting day, and by mail. Vote-by-mail packages can be requested through the district electoral office, on Elections B.C.’s website or by calling 1-800-661-8683. Mail-in ballots must be returned to the district electoral office before voting closes at 8 p.m. on Jan. 30. Voters with disabilities can contact Elections B.C. for accessible voting opportunities.
All voters must show ID to receive a ballot. Acceptable ID is listed at elections.bc.ca/id.
Eligible voters who are not on the voters list must register or update their information by midnight today online at elections.bc.ca/ovr or by phone at 1-800-661-8683. After midnight today, eligible voters can only register in person at voting opportunities.
— Katie DeRosa, Times Colonist
