The 2026 General Local Elections will be held Saturday, October 17, 2026

The RDKB consists of five Electoral Areas and eight member municipalities. The municipalities include the Village of Fruitvale, the Village of Montrose, the City of Trail, the Village of Warfield, the City of Rossland, the City of Grand Forks, the City of Greenwood and the Village of Midway. Every four years the RDKB conducts general local elections in the Electoral Areas. Directors may be elected by acclamation (in the case of a single qualified candidate) or by voting (where there is more than one qualified candidate).

Each municipal Director on the Board of Directors is appointed by their respective Council from amongst their elected members.

In addition to elections, the RDKB may also hold assent voting (referendum) or an Alternative Approval Process (AAP) to determine public opinion on a matter, or to obtain the assent of the electors on a proposed bylaw.

Assent Voting (Referendum) For certain matters (long term borrowing, establishment of new services), regional districts are required to obtain elector approval before the project can proceed. Assent voting (or referendum) allows electors to vote on whether a proposal would move forward or not. Assent of the electors is obtained if a majority of the votes counted are in favour of the bylaw or question. Assent voting is conducted under the rules that generally apply to local elections.

Alternative Approval Process

The Local Government Act and Community Charter gives the Board of Directors an alternate option to seeking approval of the electors by referendum. The Alternative Approval Process (AAP)l process is a less costly and time-consuming way of asking the electorate’s permission to proceed with the adoption of, for example, a borrowing bylaw. If at least 10 per cent of the estimated number of electors oppose the bylaw, agreement or other matter in question, it must be taken to a formal referendum vote before it can be adopted.

See also Elections BC

and Province of BC