Articles about UBCM's annual Conventions.
The Tuesday Forums will look a little different this year for mid-sized and large urban communities. Traditionally the forums have been separated by community size, offering a space for local governments to discuss common issues.
Small Talk and the Electoral Area Director’s forums find value in this format, the nature of their size often posing unique issues to manage. Those forums will remain unchanged.
A memorial wall, honouring UBCM members, colleagues, and friends who have passed away this year, will be developed for 2025 Convention. If you know of an elected official in your area who passed away in the last 12 months, please get in touch with Zoë Ducklow by September 12, 2025 to ensure they are recognized.
Please include:
UBCM staff will be available to discuss funding programs during 2025 UBCM Convention. Local governments are invited to book appointments with staff from the Canada Community-Building Fund and/or Local Government Program Services.
UBCM members are encouraged to book an appointment to meet UBCM staff and to discuss:
Every year, we accept nominations for the Long Service Awards and Special Long Service Awards to recognize local government elected officials who have served 20, 25 and 35+ years. Awards are presented at the UBCM Annual Banquet at Convention.
Please complete the Long Service Awards nomination form by August 29, 2025 to ensure recognition of your local government colleagues.
Our keynote speaker for the 2025 UBCM Convention is Marcy Grossman – a globally respected leader whose distinguished career in Canadian diplomacy has left an indelible mark on the international stage. Her leadership is instrumental in fostering peace, cooperation and mutual understanding across cultures and borders. Marcy is a pioneer in international business development. Her story will set the tone as she empowers, leads, and inspires us on the opening morning of Convention.
Room blocks for the 2025 UBCM Convention in Victoria, BC will open on Wednesday, November 6, 9 am. Please note, the hotels will not accept reservations before this date at the UBCM rate, and will not create waitlists. Reservations made before the block opening date through a third-party or at a different rate, cannot be changed to the UBCM room blocks.
Politicians expect public scrutiny as a regular part of the job, but personal attacks, especially on social media, have increased noticeably. One workshop at Convention 2024 focused on mental health of elected leaders. UBCM spent five minutes with one panelist, the Honourable Janet Austin, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia.
UBCM: Do you think the challenge of mental health for elected officials is getting worse?
5 Minutes With: George Stroumboulopoulos
As someone who listens for a living, we wanted to talk with the 2024 Convention keynote speaker George Stroumboulopoulos about how to hold helpful public discourse in a divided world.
UBCM: The world is fairly polarized right now, especially when we're talking politics. So how do we have constructive, useful conversations?
Women in elected office are invited to attend a special session at Convention 2024: Women electeds finding solutions together. The session will continue the discussion from a Women in Politics session at last year’s Convention, where participants identified the barriers that women face in the political arena. We are excited to continue the transformative dialogue by identifying actionable solutions. Register now for the W.E. Talk: Monday, September 16, 4:30-6:30 pm.
UBCM is accepting nominations for elected officials who have served over 25 years in office. Please submit nominations by Friday, August 23rd to celebrate and ensure recognition of long service local government leaders at the 2024 UBCM Convention.