Candidates

To be a prospective candidate for local office, at least two eligible electors from the local government where you are seeking election must nominate you. 

To nominate a candidate for local office, the nominator must:

• Be 18 years of age or older when they register to vote or will be 18 years of age or older on general voting day
• Be a Canadian citizen
• Have been a resident of BC for at least six months before registering to vote
• Be a resident in the municipality or electoral area for which the nomination is being made, or in the case of a non-property resident property elector, own real property in the municipality or electoral area

They must not be disqualified under the Local Government Act or any other enactment from voting in an election or be otherwise disqualified by law.

Nomination Period

The nomination period for 2026 General Local Election opens at 9am on September 1, 2026, and closes at 4pm on September 11, 2026. This is the only time when the Chief Election Officer is permitted to accept nomination documents from nominees for office.

The Chief Election Officer will declare the nominees who have met the candidacy requirements and have become candidates for the local government election after the end of the nomination period after 4pm on September 11, 2026.

To be nominated for local office, a person must:

• Be 18 years of age or older on general voting day
• Be a Canadian citizen
• Have been a resident of British Columbia for six months before filing nomination document

You are not eligible to run for any local government office if you: 

• Have been convicted of an indictable offence and are disqualified from the date of the conviction until the date on which they are sentenced
• Have been convicted of and sentenced for an indictable offence and are in custody
• Have been found guilty of an election offence, such as intimidation or vote buying or other election offence
• Are a judge of the Provincial Court, Supreme Court or Court of Appeal
• Are involuntarily confined to a psychiatric facility or other institution
• Fail to file a campaign financing disclosure statement in a previous election

We encourage prospective candidates to review all eligibility requirements before submitting nomination documents.

Members of the Board of Directors guide regional decision-making that considers the well-being and interests of the entire region and its residents. Visit the BC Government website for information and helpful resources on the roles of elected officials in the community. 

One of the responsibilities of elected officials is to attend official meetings. Elected officials may also be appointed to PRRD committees and external boards. 

To learn more about running for office, please review the Candidate’s Guide to Local Elections in BC and the Thinking about Running for Local Office resources prepared by the Government of BC. 

A registered elector organization, a group of voters, can officially support a candidate on the ballot by submitting all the required endorsement documents to the Chief Election Officer and Elections BC during the nomination period. Only elector organizations that are officially registered with Elections BC can file endorsement documents, accept campaign donations or spend money on election activities. To register, the organization must have at least fifty members who are eligible voters, either residents or non-resident property owners, at the time they submit their registration to Elections BC.

An elector organization cannot endorse more candidates than there are positions available in the election, and a candidate can only be endorsed by one elector organization. Candidates who are endorsed must agree to the endorsement by signing the endorsement documents, which the elector organization then submits to the Chief Election Officer and Elections BC.

An election campaign is a series of activities aimed at getting a candidate or group of candidates elected to a local government position, such as a regional district board, city council or school trustee board. These activities can include advertising, going door-to-door to talk to voters, holding meetings and giving speeches.

As a candidate during a local election, you will likely run your own campaign. You can hire a campaign manager and recruit volunteers to help with tasks like handing out flyers, calling voters, managing event details and other campaign-related work. You have a lot of freedom in how to organize your campaign, as long as you follow the rules and avoid breaking any election or campaign finance laws.

Managed by Elections BC, the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act regulates how financial disclosures and other related actions are made. This legislation applies to candidates, elector organizations and those wishing to participate in the election process through advocacy. 

Each election area and office has its own limit, determined by the office and the election area's population. For the 2026 General Local Elections, the campaign limits for the Peace River Regional District are as follows:

• Electoral Area Director - $6,161.89

A third-party sponsor is a person or group that runs election advertising on their own, independent from any candidate or political organization. They must operate independently and cannot work together with, or run ads for, a candidate or political group. If a third-party sponsor wants to run election ads during the pre-campaign or campaign periods, they must first register with Elections BC.

Campaign Financing Rules

Visit Elections BC for guides for local elections and how third-party sponsors work in BC. They have information about the campaign financing rules, offences and penalties that apply to third party sponsors.

The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure Elections Signs and Posters Policy outlines conditions you should be aware of regarding the placement of election signage on highway rights-of-way. 

The following additional information is included for potential candidates in the packages picked up
from the PRRD offices.

• Board Procedure Bylaw No. 2490, 2022 (consolidated version)
• Remuneration and Expense Bylaw No. 2354, 2019 (consolidated version)
• PRRD Five Year Financial Plan (2026-2030) Bylaw No. 2600, 2026
• Election and Assent Voting Bylaw No. 2485, 2022 (consolidated version)
• 2026 Board Meeting Schedule
• Board Appointments List
• Directors Code of Conduct