Cowichan Valley: candidates in the 2026 BC election

4 candidates are on the ballot in Cowichan Valley for the provincial election on Saturday, October 24, 2026. They are listed by last name.

Answer 16 short questions to see which party, and which of these candidates, is closest to your views. Available in 9 languages.

Candidates

Bert Chen
BC Conservatives
Small business owner from a rural family that ran a gas station. Has worked on infrastructure projects in remote communities, including with First Nations.
Sources: Elections BC candidate list (2026), CHEK News: All Vancouver Island candidates for the 2026 B.C. election
James Chumsa
Communist Party of BC
Raised in the Cowichan Valley. Ran federally for the Communist Party in Nanaimo-Ladysmith in 2019. Vancouver Island University sociology graduate.
Sources: Elections BC candidate list (2026), CHEK News: All Vancouver Island candidates for the 2026 B.C. election
Justin Douglas
BC Greens
Raised on Vancouver Island. Small business owner with political science and law degrees and a background in immigration and refugee law and restorative justice.
Sources: Elections BC candidate list (2026), CHEK News: All Vancouver Island candidates for the 2026 B.C. election
Debra ToporowskiIncumbent
BC NDP
MLA for Cowichan Valley since 2024. Cowichan Tribes member; former Cowichan Tribes councillor and North Cowichan councillor.
Sources: Elections BC candidate list (2026), CHEK News: All Vancouver Island candidates for the 2026 B.C. election

Candidate list from Elections BC, as of October 18, 2026.

Cowichan Valley takes in Duncan, Lake Cowichan, Shawnigan Lake, Mill Bay, Cobble Hill, Maple Bay, southern North Cowichan.

In 2024, Debra Toporowski (BC NDP) won here by 849 votes, 2.9 points.

Everyone answers 13 province-wide questions. Voters in Vancouver Island and the Coast also get these 3:

BC Ferries has cancelled sailings, long waits, rising demand and a dispute over where ships are built. What should come first?
The Crofton pulp mill has closed, and old-growth logging is still argued over on the Island. What should be done with Island forests?
Nanaimo's hospital tower and cardiac lab are funded for planning, not construction, and a Campbell River care home was paused. What should come first?

Voting day: Saturday, October 24, 2026, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Pacific time.
Advance voting: Friday October 16 to Wednesday October 21, 2026, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time. Not every location is open every day; check yours.
Where: Find advance and election-day locations with the voting-place lookup on elections.bc.ca. District electoral offices also take voters until 4 p.m. on October 24. The October 17 municipal election is a separate vote with its own locations.
Who can vote: Canadian citizen, 18 or older on October 24, 2026, and a BC resident since April 23, 2026.
By mail: Request a vote-by-mail package online or by phone (1-800-661-8683) by October 18. Elections BC must receive it by 8 p.m. Pacific time on October 24 for it to be counted. If you are not registered or your voter information is out of date, prove your identity and address by uploading ID to Elections BC's ID upload system or by including photocopies of your ID with the returned package.