The Couch Is Not a Ballot Box
Nanaimo Votes 2026 — Get Informed. Do Your Civic Duty.
There is a dangerous myth in Nanaimo.
It goes something like this:
“My vote doesn’t matter.”
“It doesn’t make any difference who gets elected.”
“They’re all the same.”
“I don’t follow politics.”
“I’m too busy.”
“I forgot.”
“I’ll complain later.”
And that last one may be the most honest one of all.
Because many citizens who cannot find time to vote somehow manage to find time to complain about taxes, roads, crime, housing, city spending, downtown decay, and decisions made at City Hall.
Here is the uncomfortable truth: democracy does not run on autopilot. It does not protect itself. It does not work properly when citizens treat elections like background noise between television shows, hockey games, social media scrolling, and the daily grind.
The Numbers Should Wake People Up
In Nanaimo’s 2022 municipal election, only 24.2% of eligible voters cast a ballot. That means roughly three out of four eligible voters stayed home.
The winning mayoral candidate received 12,390 votes in a city with 77,219 eligible voters. That works out to about 16% of eligible voters choosing the mayor.
Again, that is not a personal criticism of the mayor. It is a warning light flashing on the dashboard of local democracy.
| Election | Eligible Voters | Ballots Cast | Turnout | Winning Mayoral Vote | Winner’s Share of Eligible Voters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 69,138 | 27,475 | 39.7% | Leonard Krog: 20,040 | 29.0% |
| 2022 | 77,219 | 18,664 | 24.2% | Leonard Krog: 12,390 | 16.0% |
In 2018, turnout was better, but still hardly inspiring. There were 69,138 eligible voters, 27,475 ballots cast, and voter turnout was 39.7%. The winning mayoral candidate received 20,040 votes — about 29% of eligible voters.
Then came 2022. More eligible voters. Fewer ballots. Lower turnout. Less public participation.
That should bother every taxpayer in Nanaimo.
Because while citizens stay home, City Hall keeps moving. Budgets keep growing. Taxes keep rising. Borrowing decisions keep coming. Major projects keep rolling forward. Staff reports keep shaping policy. Committees keep meeting. Council keeps voting.
The machinery of government does not stop because citizens are not paying attention.
In fact, government often works best for insiders when the public is not paying attention.
A quiet public gallery is convenient. A disengaged electorate is convenient. A population that wakes up only after the tax bill arrives is convenient.
But it is not healthy democracy.
Voting Is the Bare Minimum
Voting is not the whole of citizenship, but it is the bare minimum. It is the front door. It is the one moment when every citizen, regardless of income, title, connections, or insider status, gets the same basic power: one vote.
That is a privilege millions of people around the world have never had. In some places, people risk prison, violence, intimidation, or worse just to demand the right to choose their leaders.
In Nanaimo, we can do it freely, peacefully, and locally — and three quarters of eligible voters could not be bothered in 2022.
That is not just apathy. That is civic neglect.
The Excuses Do Not Stand Up
“My vote makes no difference.”
Really? Local elections can be decided by small margins. Council seats can be won or lost by a few hundred votes, sometimes less.
Even when a mayoral race is not close, council races matter. The people elected to council vote on taxes, spending, borrowing, zoning, policing, infrastructure, public safety, and the direction of the city.
Your vote may not decide every race, but your absence helps decide the culture of the whole election.
“It doesn’t matter who gets elected.”
Then why do taxes change? Why do policies change? Why do projects get approved? Why do staffing levels grow? Why do some priorities get funded and others ignored?
If elected officials did not matter, nobody would campaign for the job. Nobody would donate. Nobody would lobby. Nobody would seek influence.
Elections matter very much to the people who understand power. The question is whether ordinary taxpayers understand it too.
“I don’t know enough to vote.”
That is not a reason to stay home. That is a reason to get informed.
Read candidate platforms. Watch council clips. Look at tax increases. Ask who supports a Core Services Review. Ask who is serious about public safety. Ask who understands infrastructure. Ask who respects taxpayers. Ask who gives straight answers.
Ask who has the courage to challenge the system instead of simply joining it.
No citizen needs to become a policy expert. But every voter should know enough to make a serious choice.
“I’m too busy.”
Too busy to vote, but not too busy to pay the tax bill?
Too busy to vote, but not too busy to complain about potholes, crime, downtown disorder, closed businesses, rising fees, and the cost of living?
Voting takes less time than watching one episode of a favourite soap, scrolling through Facebook, or standing in line for coffee.
The difference is that voting may actually affect the place where you live.
If You Do Not Vote, You Are Not Neutral
This is the point Nanaimo needs to hear before the 2026 election:
If you do not vote, you are not neutral. You are handing your voice to someone else.
You are letting a smaller group of people choose the mayor and council who will make decisions affecting your taxes, your neighbourhood, your roads, your parks, your safety, your housing costs, your business climate, and your city’s future.
That is not responsible citizenship.
Nanaimo does not need more people waking up after the election. Nanaimo needs people awake before the election.
Get informed. Ask questions. Challenge candidates. Read beyond slogans. Look past smiling campaign photos. Find out who has a serious plan and who is just offering pleasant words.
Pay attention before the ballot box, not after the budget is passed.
The 2026 election is not a spectator sport.
It is not something to leave to politicians, insiders, activists, unions, special interests, or the usual small circle of voters who always show up.
This city belongs to the citizens.
Your City. Your Taxes. Your Say.
But only if you use it.
Wake Up Nanaimo Votes 2026
If You Think Your Taxes Have Climbed, It Is Not Your Imagination
As part of the Wake Up Nanaimo Votes 2026 series, let’s keep this simple.
If you feel like your property taxes have been climbing year after year, you are not imagining it.
From 2018 to 2026, the City of Nanaimo’s council-approved municipal property tax increases have compounded to roughly 62%.
That means if the City portion of your property tax bill was equivalent to $1,000 at the start of this period, the same City tax burden would be roughly $1,620 by 2026.
Important: this is only the City of Nanaimo municipal property tax increase.
It does not include:
- Regional District of Nanaimo taxes
- Nanaimo Regional Hospital District taxes
- School taxes
- Library taxes
- BC Assessment or other outside levies
- Water, sewer, garbage, recycling, or other user fee increases
So when people say, “My tax bill just keeps going up,” they are not being dramatic. They are looking at the bill that lands in the mailbox.
The Increases Stack
A tax increase one year does not disappear the next year.
It becomes the new starting point.
Then the next increase is added on top of that.
Then another.
Then another.
That is how a few percent here and a few percent there can turn into a major increase over time.
Nanaimo City-Approved Municipal Property Tax Increases
| Year | Approved City Tax Increase |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 2.08% |
| 2019 | 5.0% |
| 2020 | 4.5% |
| 2021 | 3.0% |
| 2022 | 6.0% |
| 2023 | 7.2% |
| 2024 | 7.7% |
| 2025 | 7.8% |
| 2026 | 6.4% |
| Compounded Total | Approx. 62% |
Compounded together, those increases add up to roughly 62%.
This Is Why Elections Matter
Property taxes are not some mysterious force of nature.
They are the result of budgets.
Budgets are approved by councils.
Councils are chosen by voters.
And voters are the ones who decide whether City Hall gets a blank cheque or a serious course correction.
This is why Nanaimo Votes 2026 matters.
If you are concerned about taxes, spending, staffing levels, service priorities, debt, user fees, infrastructure, public safety, housing policy, or whether City Hall is focused on core services, then the time to pay attention is before the election — not after the tax bill arrives.
The Bottom Line
A roughly 62% compounded increase in the City portion of property taxes over this period is not small.
And again, that is before adding the other tax authorities and user fees that also affect the real cost of living in Nanaimo.
So yes, if it feels like your tax burden has climbed sharply over the last eight years, there is a reason.
It has.
Wake Up. Get Informed. Do Your Civic Duty.
Nanaimo Votes 2026.
Note: Figures refer to council-approved City of Nanaimo municipal property tax increases and are presented as a public education summary. They do not include outside taxing authorities or user fee increases.
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