SFU’s School of Public Policy is seeking local governments to partner with senior undergraduate student teams between September and December 2026 for a new program designed to take on real-world policy problems faced by B.C. cities and towns. There is no cost and limited…
Latest News
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Each month, we provide an update on funding programs administered by UBCM along with and information on other programs, events, and resources of interest to local governments and First Nations.
UBCM Awards
Long Service Awards – Each year, UBCM presents Long Service Awards to…
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The Province has issued letters patent to formally incorporate Okanagan Falls as a new municipality, to be known as the District of Okanagan Falls. Incorporation is expected to take effect on November 6, 2026, following the community’s majority vote in favour of incorporation in…
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The Ministry of Finance is clarifying plans for changes to the provincial sales tax (PST) that were announced in Budget 2026. As of effect on October 1, 2026, PST will be applied to certain professional services, but not necessarily at 100%. For architectural, engineering, and…
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The Ministry of Water, Lands and Natural Resources will hold an online engagement session on July 16, 2026, 1-3pm, for local governments about a suite of initiatives underway to update natural resource permitting processes in British Columbia.
The session builds on…
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The federal government is accepting applications for shovel-ready, Class C infrastructure projects that can begin before the end of 2026. Funding is being provided through the ‘Direct Delivery’ stream of the Build Canada Strong Fund (BCSF). This stream will provide $6 billion…
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An announcement by Prime Minister Mark Carney and Premier David Eby provided general information on concepts to increase the supply of affordable homes and deliver housing-enabling infrastructure funding, but few details were shared. Speaking in Vancouver, the Prime Minister…
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A new regulation for procurement notices is coming into effect as of September 2026 for local governments. Per new Canadian Free Trade Agreement rules, all procurement notices covered under CFTA must be posted on CanadaBuys, the federal government’s procurement platform.…
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On June 15, the Ministry of Energy and Climate Solutions and BC Hydro announced a new long-term strategy to address increasing electricity demand. Powering Growth, Fueling Opportunity outlines the Province’s response to projected increases in electricity demand of 20% by 2030…
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The Housing Assessment Resource Tools (HART) research team at UBC has developed a BC Public Lands Map that shows every level of government-owned land across BC, with access to amenity scores, site characteristics, ownership data, and information on infrastructure access.…