Vancouver City Council has directed staff to add a non-binding plebiscite question to the ballot for the 2026 municipal election, following a special Council meeting held on August 14.
According to the news release by Vancouver City, voters will be asked to answer two “yes” or “no” questions related to street disorder, open-air hard drug use, and community safety and health.
The first question asks whether voters favour the City of Vancouver strengthening its laws to forbid open-air use of hard drugs — including heroin, meth, fentanyl and crack — in public spaces. The second asks whether the city should formally request that the Province of BC convert portions of the old St. Paul’s Hospital, or another similar site, into a secure medical facility offering acute voluntary and more than 100 involuntary care beds for individuals who pose a serious risk to themselves or others due to severe substance use and mental health disorders.
According to the news release, Council’s authority to put a question to voters comes from section 184 of the Vancouver Charter, which allows Council to submit a question to voters for its own information. A non-binding question provides Council with information about public opinion and does not create any legal obligations.
Voters will receive two separate ballots: one for Mayor, City Councillors, School Trustees, Park Board Commissioners, and the Capital Plan questions, and a second for the plebiscite question. According to the news release, Vancouver voters are not required to vote on every ballot question, and UBC/UEL voters will only be able to vote for School Trustees, as they are not eligible to vote on the plebiscite question.
