B.C. election forum in Surrey is Thursday as advance voting starts Friday

Surrey & White Rock Board of Trade, Cloverdale District Chamber of Commerce and White Rock Business Improvement Association will host a provincial candidates forum on Thursday, Oct. 15. Candidates from Surrey’s 10 ridings are invited to the event at Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel, which starts at 5:30 p.m. It is being held ahead of the Oct. 24 B.C. election, separate from the civic election on Oct. 17.

The forum is open to members of the business community, residents and other community stakeholders. Only candidates from CentreBC, Conservative, Green, NDP and OneBC are invited. Organizers say the discussion will cover key issues including economic growth and competitiveness, housing, transportation and infrastructure, public safety, health care, workforce and skills development, and the cost of doing business. An event post describes it as a non-partisan forum bringing together candidates from five parties seeking to represent communities in Surrey and White Rock in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, across all 10 ridings.

Voters can register at https://businessinsurrey.chambermaster.com/eventregistration/register/14696. Questions for candidates had to be emailed by Oct. 5 for consideration. SWRBOT election forums are streamed on the board of trade’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@swrbot.

Advance voting in the B.C. election starts Friday, Oct. 16, and runs for six days through Oct. 21. Details on where to vote are available at https://elections.bc.ca/2026-provincial-election/where-to-vote/.