Provincial and Territorial Elections

Specific details for each Canadian Province and Territory : Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan, Quebec, Yukon

British Columbia

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Provincial List of Voters

The government of British Columbia collects and records your personal information for its Provincial list of voters.

To register to vote, you must provide Elections BC your name, address, date of birth, and an identification number. You may optionally provide a phone number or email address, which Elections BC will only use to contact you with election information.

The identification number may be your BC driver’s license or BCID number, the last six digits of your Social Insurance Number, or the last six digits of your Personal Health Number (Elections BC). It is retained by Elections BC for data management purposes and can only be disclosed to Elections Canada for electoral purposes or ICBC for information-sharing purposes. Any uses are protected by privacy regulation.

The Provincial list of voters is a permanent list that is continuously maintained and updated. If you change your name or address on your BC driver’s license, your BCID, or your BC Services card, this change is automatically made in the voters list. Elections BC also has access to the National Register through elections Canada, and changes to your personal information in the federal database are also reflected in the voters list. 

Access to and uses of your Personal Information

Elections BC uses the voters list to carry out the election and must use the personal information provided on the voters list only to do so.

The BC Election Act sets out who has access to your personal information from the voters list and how they can use it. Candidates in elections and recall proponents are entitled to a copy free of charge [s.48(1)]. Elections BC may be charged a fee for other requests of the list of voters [s. 51]. In any case, personal information from the voters list may only be used for authorized purposes.

Elections BC also shares certain personal information from the voters list with members of the legislative assembly (MLAs), provincial political candidates, and recall proponents.  For candidates, only the list of voters in their electoral district is shared [s. 48(1)(a)].

When Elections BC shares a voters list, it contains (OIPC):

• Electoral district and voting area
• A unique identifier
• Name
• Residential address
• Whether the voter voted at their last opportunity
• Mailing address, if different from residential address (only sent to parties and MLAs)

Voters lists do not include date of birth, email address, or telephone number.

Section 275 (3) of the Election Act limits the use of your voters list personal information by those with access to it, such as political parties and candidates, by creating a list of authorized uses. These uses include:

• Electoral purposes [BC Reg 205/2015, s. 2]
• Communicating with you 
• To identify potential jurors (by the Ministry of the Attorney General)
• For purposes authorized by the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, which can be found here (ss. 32 to 34)

Your personal information from the voters list cannot be used for commercial purposes [s. 275 (3.3)]. Elections BC may require the party with access to your information to provide a signed statement that they will not use it for an unauthorized purpose [s. 275 (4)].

Removal and Protection of your Information

Elections Act allows you to request the removal of your personal information from the Provincial voters list through a written request.  You can use the following HYPERLINK “https://elections.bc.ca/docs/lecfa/200R.pdf ” form and email it to voterservices@elections.bc.ca (Elections BC).

You may also request to have your information protected from distribution to political parties and candidates while keeping it on the voters list [s. 51(4)]. If you believe this distribution would put your privacy or security at risk, Elections BC will provide guidance on how you can vote without disclosing your residential address. For more information, contact Elections BC Voter Services at 1-800-661-8683 or:

• Director, Voter Services
• Elections BC
• PO Box 9275 Stn Prov Govt
• Victoria, BC V8W 9J6

You may direct questions about privacy and the use of your personal information to:

• Privacy Officer
• Suite #100 – 1112 Fort Street
• Victoria, B.C., V8V 3K8
• 250-387-5305 or toll-free at 1-800-661-8683
• privacy@elections.bc.ca

Sources

• Election Act, RSBC 1996, c 106.
• Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, RSBC 1996, c 165.
• Electoral Purposes for Access to and Use of Personal Information Regulation, BC Reg 205/2015.
• Provincial Voters List | Elections BC
• Accessing The Provincial Voters List | Elections BC
• Recall | Elections BC

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These pages were last updated and reviewed in the summer of 2024. 

The information on these pages only contains general information and guidance; none of the information constitutes legal advice. If you have a specific issue that you believe is a legal problem, the best practice is to consult a lawyer. 

The information is non-partisan, dynamic and ever changing. It is the result of FIPA’s research and public education programs.

If you note something that needs to be added, corrected, or removed, please contact us by email: fipa AT fipa.bc.ca.