Electronic Voting at BC Strata Meetings

Video AGMs, hybrid meetings and electronic ballots are now a normal part of BC strata governance. But the rules that make them valid are specific, and getting the notice or the ballot method wrong is one of the easier ways to hand an unhappy owner grounds to challenge a resolution. Here is what the Strata Property Act actually says about strata electronic voting in BC.

Do You Need a Bylaw to Hold an Electronic Meeting?

No. Since November 24, 2022, every BC strata corporation may hold electronic or hybrid general meetings and accept electronic votes without passing a bylaw first. The BC government's guidance on conducting a general meeting confirms a bylaw is not required.

If your strata already passed an electronic-meeting bylaw in 2020 or 2021, it is not necessarily void — but read it carefully. A bylaw that adds conditions (for example, requiring a council resolution or limiting electronic attendance to certain meetings) still binds your strata even though the Act no longer demands one. If you are not sure what your registered bylaws say, you can run them through a document-analysis tool like SearchStrata to surface the meeting and voting provisions quickly, then verify against the filed bylaws at the land title office.

The Three Statutory Requirements

Section 49 lets a strata corporation provide for attendance and voting by telephone or other electronic means at an annual or special general meeting, provided all three of these are met:

• The notice under s.45 includes instructions for attending by electronic means. A meeting link buried in a follow-up email does not satisfy this — it belongs in the notice package itself.
• The electronic means enables all persons attending to communicate with each other. Listen-only webcasts do not qualify.
• The electronic means enables the chair to identify whether a person attending electronically is an eligible voter. In practice this means a registration or check-in step, not just a screen name.

A person who attends this way is deemed present in person at the meeting under s.49(4) — which matters for quorum and for counting votes cast.

Notice: Why an Emailed AGM Package Needs 18 Days

Section 45 requires at least 2 weeks' written notice of an annual or special general meeting (4 weeks where a winding-up resolution will be considered). But section 61(3) conclusively deems notice given 4 days after it is emailed, faxed, mailed, put under the door, put in a mailbox or left with an adult occupant. Only notice left with the person directly escapes that deeming rule.

So an emailed notice package should go out roughly 18 days before the meeting date, not 14. Our post on BC strata AGM notice and quorum requirements works through the counting in more detail.

Remember that notice also goes to mortgagees who have filed a Mortgagee's Request for Notification under s.60 and to tenants who have been assigned the landlord's right to vote under s.147.

Voting Cards and Secret Ballots Online

This is where the Act deliberately overrides your bylaws. Under s.49(3), despite the bylaws:

• a voting card is not required to be issued to an eligible voter attending electronically; and
• an eligible voter attending electronically is not entitled or required to vote by secret ballot.

That matters because Standard Bylaw 27 otherwise requires voting cards, allows any eligible voter to request a precise count, and requires a secret ballot for a council election or any other vote if an eligible voter asks. If your strata still uses the Standard Bylaws unamended, the practical result is that in-person attendees may be entitled to a secret ballot while electronic attendees are not. Decide in advance how the chair will handle a mixed request, and record the method and the outcome in the minutes as Standard Bylaw 27 requires. See how to prepare AGM minutes in BC for what belongs in the record.

Questions and Answers

Can owners vote by email between meetings?
The Act's thresholds are votes taken at a general meeting. The closest alternative is s.41: the AGM can be skipped only if all eligible voters waive it in writing and consent in writing to resolutions approving the budget, electing council by acclamation and dealing with other business. That is unanimity, not a mail-in vote.

Does electronic voting change the vote thresholds?
No. Section 50 — see the Part 4 text at s.50 — provides that matters are decided by majority vote unless the Act or regulations require a different threshold. A 3/4 vote is defined in s.1 as at least 3/4 of the votes cast by eligible voters present in person or by proxy who have not abstained — not 3/4 of all owners. An 80% vote and a unanimous vote count all eligible votes in the corporation, present or not.

How many votes does each lot get in an online poll?
The same as in the room. Residential strata lots ordinarily carry one vote each; a Schedule of Voting Rights (Form W) filed for a plan that includes non-residential lots may set different numbers, and s.264 governs recalculation after a plan amendment. Unit entitlement does not weight votes.

Can council meetings be held electronically?
Section 49 addresses annual and special general meetings. For council meetings, look to your own registered bylaws — Standard Bylaw 18 speaks of decisions made by a majority of council members present in person at the meeting. Many stratas have amended that language; if yours has not, get advice before relying on a remote council vote for a contentious decision.

Housekeeping That Protects the Result

• Include the electronic-attendance instructions in the notice package itself, alongside the budget and financial statement required by s.103.
• Keep your owner email list current, and keep proof of when each notice was sent — the 4-day deeming clock runs from that date. Self-managed councils using ManageStrata often keep the send log and attendance register in one place for exactly this reason.
• Publish the agenda early. Owners holding at least 20% of the votes can demand that a resolution or matter be included under s.46.
• Have the chair confirm eligibility at check-in and announce each result, including the precise count where one was requested.

If your strata is weighing whether to keep meetings self-run or bring in outside help, our guide to choosing a strata management company in BC covers what to ask about meeting administration.

This article is general information about BC strata law, not legal advice; verify against the current Strata Property Act and Regulation or consult a BC strata lawyer.