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October 17 is municipal election day i n British Columbia\, and with outcomes that affect everyone in the province . Voters in each municipality will choose their mayor\, city councilors\, a nd school board trustees. These representatives in turn will play a vital r ole in shaping daily life in those communities\, from housing and transport ation to utilities\, community safety\, and more.
This year's electio n will be particularly significant in shaping how the province's communitie s approach issues such as reconciliation and land governance\, housing and homelessness\, the opioid crisis\, public health\, and public safety.
Join a panel of UBC alumni uniquely positioned to explain and interpret th e results of the vote. Together\, they will explore what the outcomes mean for communities across the province\, the future of local governance\, and key policy challenges ahead.
Robin Gill\, BA'93 — Communications Consultant\, Media Training and Presentation Coach\, Robin Gill Communications
Mario Can seco\, MJ'02 (he/him) — President\, Research Co.
Katie Hyslop\, MJ'10 (they/th em) — Reporter\, The Tyee
Justin McElroy\, BA'11 — Municipal Affairs Reporter\, CBC
Dr. Stewart Pre st\, PhD'16 (he/him) — Lecturer\, Department of Political Science\, UBC
[cards][card title="Schedule" text="6:45pm –
Registration opens
7:00pm – Panel and Q&A
Limited capacity\, reg istration required." link_text="REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT" link_url="https:// ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_7O3jYjDweQQzvx4"][/cards]
[accordions collapsible=true active=false][accordion tit le="Robin Gill (BA'93)"]
With over 30 years of experience in journali sm and communications\, Robin Gill helps organizations\, leaders and profes sionals share their stories with confidence and impact. Drawing on a career that spans major national and international news coverage\, as well as 14 years as a national correspondent and anchor\, Robin offers expert media tr aining\, strategic communications\, public speaking and thought leadership support. Whether preparing for a media interview\, building a public profil e or communicating through times of change\, Robin helps clients connect wi th their audiences and achieve their communications goals.[/accordion][/acc ordions]
[accordions collapsible=true act ive=false][accordion title="Mario Canseco (MJ'02)"]
Mario Canseco has analyzed and conducted public opinion research since 2003\, designing and managing research projects for clients across private and public sectors. M ario is a sought-after commentator on political and sociological issues\, a nd writes a column for Business in Vancouver and Lodestar Media. H is articles have also appeared in the Vancouver Sun\, The Globe and Mail and the National Observer. Starting in 20 07\, Mario's work as an electoral forecaster in four different companies ha s resulted in 160 correct predictions of democratic processes in Canada and the United States\, including six Canadian federal elections\, 26 Canadian provincial elections and four United States presidential elections.[/accor dion]
[accordion title="Katie Hyslop (MJ'10)"]
Katie Hyslop is a passionate and dedicated communicator reporting on education and municipa l politics at The Tyee\, with over a decade of experience in bring ing impactful\, social justice-focused stories to light. Katie's journalism journey in British Columbia has been marked by a commitment to addressing the pressing challenges faced in the B.C. education system and now Vancouve r municipal government issues that are compounded for people and communitie s society has marginalized for their income\, abilities\, race\, gender and sexualities. This election year (2026)\, Katie is focusing on the crowded and complex field of candidates and municipal political parties vying to le ad Vancouver into the next four years and beyond.[/accordion]
[accord ion title="Justin McElroy (BA'11)"]
Justin McElroy is the Municipal A ffairs Reporter for CBC Vancouver\, covering local political stories throug hout British Columbia.[/accordion]
[accordion title="Dr. Stewart Pres t (PhD'16)"]
Stewart Prest is a lecturer in the Department of Politic al Science. He teaches a broad range of subjects\, from B.C. politics\, to contemporary threats to democracy\, to foreign policy and issues of global peace and conflict. He is also a frequent contributor to public discussions of politics\, with essays appearing regularly with The Walrus\, < em>The Conversation\, and elsewhere. He contributes to public debate\, and provides expert commentary for The New York Times\, the BBC\, France 24\, and many other local and international outlets.[/accordion]
[/accordions]
This event is presented by UBC Connects a t Robson Square\, the UBC Faculty of Arts\, and the Department of Political Science in collaboration with UBC Community Engagement and alumni UBC 's UBC Dialogues.
Questions? Please contact Laura Chan\, Event Manager\, Faculty of Arts.
[but tons][button link_text="RSVP" link_url="https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/f orm/SV_7O3jYjDweQQzvx4"][/buttons]
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CATEGORIES:Featured Homepage,Featured News/Events LOCATION:Theatre C300 at Robson Square GEO:49.282483;-123.121401 URL;VALUE=URI:https://politics.ubc.ca/events/event/bc-votes-2026/ ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://poli.cms.arts.ubc.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2026/08/MUNI-Event-BannersSlides-1.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Vancouver BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 DTSTART:20260308T100000 TZNAME:PDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR