Horgan calls byelection for Nanaimo seat

WATCH: Voters in Nanaimo will head to the polls Jan. 30 to choose their next MLA. BC Premier John Horgan announced the byelection today that will replace Leonard Krog. Dean Stoltz reports.

Premier John Horgan has called a byelection for Jan. 30, 2019, in the Nanaimo electoral district.

The seat became vacant when then-MLA Leonard Krog resigned his provincial seat on Nov. 30, 2018. Krog was elected mayor of Nanaimo back in October 2018.

Candidate nominations for the Nanaimo byelection close at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 9. Nominations can be filed with filed with the Chief Electoral Officer until 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 4. After that, they can be filed with the Nanaimo District Electoral Officer, up to the deadline on Jan. 9. 

The B.C. Liberals have chosen Nanaimo businessman Tony Harris as their candidate while Sheila Malcolmson, NDP MP for Nanaimo-Ladysmith, has been acclaimed as the provincial NDP candidate. Malcomson resigned her federal seat effective Jan. 1, 2019.

Michele Ney, a teacher from the Nanaimo area, won the B.C. Green Party’s nomination in December for the upcoming byelection.

Residents of the Nanaimo electoral district are eligible to vote in the byelection if they are:

• 18 or older on Jan. 30, 2019
• a Canadian citizen, and
• a resident of B.C. since July 29, 2018

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.

Voting places will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Jan. 30.

Advance voting will be available over six days from Tuesday, January 22 to Sunday, January 27, 2019 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Advance voting places and the dates and times they are open will be published on the Elections BC website, in community newspapers, and on Where to Vote cards that will be sent to Nanaimo voters before advance voting starts.

Voting is also available at the Nanaimo district electoral office (201-65 Front St, Nanaimo, B.C.) from now until 4 p.m. on Jan. 30., and by mail.  Vote-by-mail packages can be requested through the district electoral office, on Elections BC’s website, or by calling 1-800-661-8683.

Vote-by-mail packages must be returned to the district electoral office before voting closes at 8 p.m.

Editorial Policies Report an Error