This fall, British Columbians are heading to the polls for our 2024 provincial election. Elections provide a great opportunity for voters to let candidates know about the issues that matter to them. An estimated one in five people in BC live with chronic pain and now is the time to remind candidates that people with pain vote!
A call to take action
This is a request for candidates to commit to enhancing care and support for those living with chronic pain. Limited access to necessary care and support can reduce quality of life, increase disability and cause significant distress for people who already live with the daily challenges of chronic pain.
Moreover, unmanaged pain is a major driver of substance use, making the lack of adequate pain care a key factor in BC’s continuing overdose crisis.
It’s time for British Columbians with pain to make their demands clear. Use this election season to insist that candidates address these urgent issues.
Your voice matters—make it heard and push for real change.
Be part of the conversation—your input matters!
There are many ways you can reach out to your local candidates and make sure your voice is heard in this election, including email, phone or social media. To make it easier for you, we have put together this toolkit of ideas and resources – including a letter template you can use, suggested social media posts you can share, and information on how to contact your candidates directly.
Getting in touch with your electoral candidates
Not sure what to say? You can customize the template we’ve created to contact your candidates via email or letter mail. We encourage you to personalize your letter by explaining why the issue of chronic pain is important to you and asking for the changes you’d like to see in BC.
You can call candidates’ offices to ask questions, raise your concerns, and ask for support for those living with pain. Be sure to tell the person who answers the phone that you’d like a response to your questions, and ensure they have your contact details so they can reply.
Contact details for your candidates
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To find your local candidates, you’ll need to know your Electoral District. If you’re unsure of your Electoral District, you can find it here.
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Once you know your local Electoral District, you can view the full list of candidates for BC’s 2024 Provincial election on the Elections BC website.
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While Elections BC doesn’t list each candidate’s contact information, you can find contact information for current MLAs here. You should be able to find contact information for candidates not currently holding office by searching their party’s website or by searching online for their campaign website.
Frequently, volunteers for a candidate (and sometimes even the candidates themselves) will go door-to-door or make phone calls to ask voters for their support. This is a great opportunity to ask how your candidates plan to improve pain care and support and let them know how important this issue is to you.
Don’t forget to vote
Make sure to vote for the candidate you believe will best address the issues you care about. Register to vote here. Many people with pain prefer to vote by mail if pain makes voting in-person too difficult. Find out how to register to vote by mail here.