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If B.C.'s school-age kids could vote, they would pick a Conservative minority government, with a generous helping of Green

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What if British Columbia’s elementary and high-school students — young children and teenagers — could also help choose the next provincial government?

A province-wide student vote — an educational exercise that helps encourage youth to vote when they later reach the eligible voting age — offers a glimpse of their choices.

The Conservative Party of British Columbia still came out on top, but fell short of a majority, while the BC Greens secured a much bigger share of seats than in the actual election.

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Students participating in CIVIX’s Student Vote B.C. program gave Lorne Doerkson’s Conservatives 41 seats, followed by David Eby’s BC NDP with 26 seats, Emily Lowan’s BC Greens with 24 seats, and Elenore Sturko’s CentreBC with one seat.

To achieve a majority government, a party needs at least 47 seats. That produced a simulated Conservative minority government, with no party holding more than half the seats and the BC NDP forming the official opposition.

By comparison, Elections BC’s preliminary real provincial election results — updated today — showed the Conservatives leading in 63 of the province’s 93 ridings, followed by the BC NDP with 28 seats and the BC Greens with two seats. The provincial general election was held this past Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, and the final counting of the ballots that have yet to be recorded — such as mail-in ballots — will occur from Nov. 6 to 10.

Outside of the real vote, nearly 110,000 students participated in the simulated provincial voting exercise. As of CIVIX’s reporting cutoff of 10 a.m. on Oct. 24, 669 schools had submitted results covering 109,778 ballots, including 106,044 accepted ballots and 3,734 rejected ballots.

The student results covered 92 of B.C.’s 93 provincial ridings, which explains why their seat totals add up to 92. No school results had been returned for Chilliwack-Cultus Lake in the published tally.

The Conservatives received 32.4 per cent (34,376 student votes), compared with 48 per cent in the actual preliminary election results. The BC NDP received 29.3 per cent (31,038 student votes) compared with 37.4 per cent in the actual election.

The BC Greens stood out for their much stronger showing among students. They received 25.8 per cent (27,310 votes) or more than double their 11 per cent share in the actual election. Furthermore, their 24 student seats also far exceeded their two seats in the provincial results.

CentreBC attracted six per cent (6,466 student votes), and won its single student seat in Abbotsford West. In the actual preliminary results, CentreBC received just 1.6 per cent and led in no ridings. OneBC received 3.7 per cent (3,941 student votes), without winning a student seat, just like the real vote.

Within Vancouver, the provincial student results were particularly favourable to the BC Greens, who finished first in nine of the city’s 12 ridings. Students selected the BC NDP in Vancouver-Kensington and Vancouver-Point Grey, while the Conservatives won Vancouver-Quilchena.

The Student Vote program gives young people below voting age an opportunity to learn about elections and vote for the real candidates running in their local ridings. According to CIVIX, the Canadian charity that runs the initiative with some support from Elections BC, schools receive non-partisan teaching materials, along with ballots, ballot boxes, and voting screens to recreate the voting experience.

The student results come as the Conservatives have built substantial support among younger adult voters in recent years, possibly driven partly by growing housing affordability, living cost, economic, and employment issues.

A May 2024 Research Co. survey put the Conservatives ahead of the BC NDP among decided voters aged 18 to 34. This month’s final pre-election Ipsos poll conducted from Oct. 20 to 22, 2026 also found a Conservative lead among that age group, with 42 per cent support, compared with 32 per cent for the BC NDP and 23 per cent for the BC Greens.

Vancouver’s youngest residents also had a separate opportunity to practise voting during the civic election on Oct. 17, through the City of Vancouver’s Kids Vote program.

Official results show 1,516 ballots were cast, more than triple the 473 recorded in 2022. Children from preschool to Grade 3 could participate at Vancouver Public Library branches from Oct. 3 to 17, answering questions about their interests, community priorities, and the qualities they want in a leader.

Kindness was the leading choice for a leader’s most desirable quality, receiving 38 per cent (517 votes). Swimming pools topped the list of favourite places to have fun, with 36 per cent (487 votes, ahead of beaches, parks, or playgrounds at 33 per cent (444 votes).

Asked what they wished they could spend more time doing, children most often chose art, reading, music, and movies, with 34.4 per cent (468 votes). Firefighters, ambulance services, and police were the top choice for what mattered most to them in Vancouver, receiving 39 per cent (527 votes).

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