---
title: "What’s on the Vancouver 2026 ballot: the 5 extra questions explained | voche.me"
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/ballot-questions"
last_updated: "2026-09-24T22:56:22.391Z"
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description: "The 3 capital plan borrowing questions and 2 public safety plebiscite questions on Vancouver’s October 17, 2026 ballot, and what each one asks."
"og:description": "The 3 capital plan borrowing questions and 2 public safety plebiscite questions on Vancouver’s October 17, 2026 ballot, and what each one asks."
"og:title": "What’s on the Vancouver 2026 ballot: the 5 extra questions explained"
"twitter:description": "The 3 capital plan borrowing questions and 2 public safety plebiscite questions on Vancouver’s October 17, 2026 ballot, and what each one asks."
"twitter:title": "What’s on the Vancouver 2026 ballot: the 5 extra questions explained"
---
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VANCOUVER MUNICIPAL ELECTION 2026
# The 5 extra questions on your ballot
Besides choosing candidates, Vancouver voters answer 5 yes-or-no questions on Saturday, October 17, 2026: 3 questions on whether the City can borrow $790 million for infrastructure, and 2 plebiscite questions on public safety. Here is what each one asks and what a yes or no vote does.
3 QUESTIONS, $790 MILLION TOTAL
## Capital plan borrowing questions
Each question asks whether Council can borrow a stated amount, without a further vote, between January 1, 2027 and December 31, 2030. A yes vote on all 3 approves borrowing authority; it does not itself spend the money or set a tax rate.
Question 1**$292 million**
### Bridges, roads and sidewalks
Major maintenance, rehabilitation, reconstruction and enhancement of the City's bridge and structure infrastructure, including repairs and structural work on the Granville Bridge and Cambie Bridge, plus the arterial and neighbourhood transportation networks and sidewalks.
Question 2**$438 million**
### Community centres, libraries and fire halls
Replacement, renewal or rehabilitation of community-serving and essential facilities: aging community centres, pools, rinks, libraries, childcare facilities, fire halls, service yards and cultural facilities such as Vancouver Civic Theatres.
Question 3**$60 million**
### Parks and the seawall
Renewal, ongoing capital maintenance, renovations or other upgrades of parks, park buildings and features within parks, including the seawall, pathways, playgrounds, playfields and sport courts.
2 QUESTIONS, A SEPARATE BALLOT
## Public safety plebiscite questions
These 2 questions are advisory. A yes vote states what Vancouver voters prefer; it does not by itself create a bylaw or bind the Province of BC to act.
Question 1
### Open-air hard drug use
> “Are you in favour of the City of Vancouver strengthening its laws to forbid open-air hard drug (Heroin, Meth, Fentanyl, and Crack) use in public spaces?”
Question 2
### A secure care facility
> “Should the City of Vancouver formally ask the Province of BC to convert portions of the old St. Paul's Hospital, or another similar site, into a secure medical facility that provides acute voluntary and 100-plus involuntary care beds for individuals posing a serious risk to themselves or others due to severe substance use and mental health disorders?”
WHY THIS IS ON YOUR BALLOT
## How the plebiscite questions got added
Vancouver City Council voted in August 2026 to add the 2 public safety plebiscite questions to this election, after council debate over the City's approach to public drug use and secure care. Premier David Eby publicly questioned whether a municipal vote was the right way to decide a matter that falls largely under provincial authority for drug policy and health care. The questions went on the ballot as advisory votes regardless.
QUESTIONS
## Questions about the ballot questions
How many extra questions are on the Vancouver 2026 ballot besides the candidates?
Vancouver's October 17, 2026 ballot carries 5 extra yes-or-no questions beyond the candidate races: 3 capital plan borrowing questions and 2 public safety plebiscite questions. The 2 plebiscite questions appear on a separate ballot from the 3 borrowing questions and the candidate ballot.
What do the 3 capital plan borrowing questions ask?
The 3 capital plan borrowing questions ask whether Vancouver City Council can borrow a combined $790 million between January 1, 2027 and December 31, 2030: $292 million for bridges, roads and sidewalks, $438 million for community centres, libraries and other essential facilities, and $60 million for parks and the seawall.
What happens if Vancouver voters approve a capital plan borrowing question?
A majority yes vote on a capital plan borrowing question gives Vancouver City Council the legal authority to borrow up to that question's stated amount for the named projects between January 1, 2027 and December 31, 2030. A no vote does not block the projects outright, but removes this borrowing authority as a funding source for them.
What are the 2 public safety plebiscite questions on the Vancouver ballot?
The first plebiscite question asks whether Vancouver should strengthen its laws to forbid open-air hard drug use, naming heroin, meth, fentanyl and crack. The second asks whether the City should formally ask the Province of BC to convert part of the old St. Paul's Hospital site, or a similar site, into a secure care facility for people at serious risk from severe substance use or mental health disorders.
Are the Vancouver public safety plebiscite questions legally binding?
No. The 2 public safety plebiscite questions are advisory. A yes vote tells Council and the Province what Vancouver voters prefer, but does not by itself create a bylaw or force the Province to act. Any bylaw change or provincial request still needs a separate decision after the vote.
Why did Vancouver add a plebiscite question about drug use to this election?
Vancouver City Council voted in August 2026 to add the public safety plebiscite questions to the October 17, 2026 ballot, following council debate over the City's approach to public drug use and secure care. Premier David Eby publicly questioned whether a municipal plebiscite was the right way to decide the matter, since drug policy and health care fall largely under provincial authority.
Do the capital plan borrowing questions raise my property taxes?
Borrowing approved through these questions is repaid over time and is one factor among several that can affect future property tax and utility rates, alongside the City's operating budget. The City's own capital plan page states the amounts and repayment period; it does not state a specific tax impact per household, so no such figure should be assumed.
Is voche.me the official source for the wording of these ballot questions?
No. The City of Vancouver is the authority on the exact ballot wording. This page quotes the plebiscite questions and states the borrowing figures from the City's own combined capital-plan and plebiscite page, checked September 23, 2026. If anything here disagrees with vancouver.ca, the City's own page is correct.
### Where this comes from
Every figure and quoted question on this page comes from the City of Vancouver's own combined capital-plan and plebiscite page, checked September 23, 2026. voche.me is not the official source. If anything here disagrees with vancouver.ca, the City's own page is correct.
[City of Vancouver: capital plan and plebiscite questions ](https://vancouver.ca/your-government/2026-capital-plan-borrowing-questions-and-plebiscite-questions.aspx)
Voting where these questions appear on your ballot works the same as every other part of the ballot: find your voting place on [the voting places page](https://voche.me/where-to-vote) or apply to [vote by mail](https://voche.me/vote-by-mail) before October 5.
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