Our work to abolish the at-large election system is ramping up!

In late January, we held our first information session for supporters about our legal case to abolish British Columbia’s at-large system.

During this session, we talked about why at-large elections are bad for voters, candidates, and communities.

Plus, we heard from experts about other court cases involving electoral reform and learned lessons from those involved in past attempts at changing how we elect local councils.

And we revealed our legal team who will be taking the case forward.

One thing to note, that during the info session, we outlined how abolishing at-large elections is a two-step process.

Step One: If our petition to the British Columbia Supreme Court to abolish the at-large system is successful, the court will order the Province of British Columbia to replace at-large elections with another system. The court is unlikely to specify what this new system will be during this step.

Step Two: Upon receiving the order from the court, the province must enact a new electoral system for local government elections in British Columbia. Whether this system is single-member plurality, mixed-member proportional, single transferable vote, or other type of system will be up to the public and the province.

In 2025, we are concentrating on Step One – petitioning the court to abolish the at-large system. We’re leaving Step Two discussions as to what new electoral system we might want until after we see how the case is progressing.

In terms of what’s next for Step One, we are gathering support from community leaders, holding more information sessions with supporters, working with our legal team to develop the B.C. Supreme Court filing, and fundraising to support the case.