Initiative

Registered voters can use the initiative process to propose a new provincial law or changes to an existing provincial law.

The voter must collect signatures from 10% of the registered voters in each of the province’s electoral districts for an initiative petition to succeed.

The initiative process is unique to B.C. – no other province or territory in Canada has initiative legislation.

The initiative process

Elections BC administers the initiative petition process according to rules established in the Recall and Initiative Act.

To find out more about applying, canvassing, financing and submitting an initiative petition, see our Initiative FAQs or our Guide to the Initiative Process.

All initiative petition forms are available on our Forms and Guides page and can be submitted:

by mail to PO Box 9275 Stn Prov Govt, Victoria, BC V8W 9J6

by email to electionsbc@elections.bc.ca

by fax to 1-866-466-0665

in person at our office at #100 – 1112 Fort St, Victoria, BC, V8V 3K8

Previous initiative petitions

The Chief Electoral Officer has approved twelve initiative petition applications since the Recall and Initiative Act came into force in 1995. One petition, the 2010 Initiative Petition to End the Harmonized Sales Tax, was successful.

See our Summary of Initiative Petitions (PDF) and our Reports page for a complete history.

Public inspection of initiative petition sheets

The Recall and Initiative Act allows for public inspection of initiative petition sheets for up to a year after the petition is submitted to the Chief Electoral Officer.

To inspect a petition, individuals must meet the eligibility requirements established in the Recall and Initiative Act, sign a declaration that they will only use the personal information contained on the petition sheets as permitted under the Recall and Initiative Act or the Election Act, and file an acceptable privacy policy.

To request to view initiative petition sheets, submit a Record of Request for Public Inspection of Documents and Privacy policy template for individuals (00155) to the Chief Electoral Officer by mail, email, fax or in person.