After the election: oath of office and the first council meetings

Election night is only the start. A few steps have to happen before a new council or school board can get down to business. Here is how it works in BC, and what the calendars say for Langley in 2026.

The steps

1. Results are declared. The chief election officer in each municipality makes the official declaration after the votes are counted.
2. Oath of office. Under the Community Charter, an elected person must take an oath of office. For someone elected by voting, the deadline is 45 days after the declaration of results. The oath can be given by a judge, a justice of the peace, a commissioner for taking affidavits, the corporate officer or the chief election officer. The completed oath goes to the municipality’s corporate officer.
3. Inaugural meeting. Each council sets the date of its first regular meeting in its procedure bylaw, and the law says it falls in the first ten days of November after a general election.
4. Regular meetings. The council then moves to its usual meeting calendar.

The City’s local elections page lists an inaugural ceremony date but does not describe the oath, so we haven’t listed oath-taking dates. Both municipalities will post any ceremony details on their own sites.

The 2026 dates

City of Langley. The Inaugural Ceremony and Council Meeting is on Monday, November 2, 2026, at 7:00 pm in the Council Chambers at City Hall. The first regular council meeting listed after it is Monday, November 23, 2026, at 7:00 pm.

Township of Langley. The council calendar lists the Inaugural Council Meeting on November 2, 2026, from 7:00 to 10:00 pm in the Fraser River Presentation Theatre. It then lists council meetings from 1:30 to 6:00 pm on November 16 and 30 and December 14, each followed by a 7:00 pm public hearing slot.

Langley School District 35. The inaugural Board of Education meeting is Tuesday, November 3, 2026, 7:00 to 9:30 pm, and the next regular meeting is November 17, 2026, at 7:00 pm. After that the district lists December 15.

How to watch

• City: the meetings table on the City’s website gets a live video link on the day, at the start time. Recordings of past meetings sit in the same table. You can also ask to join by Zoom by emailing [email protected] by noon on meeting day.
• Township: the Mayor and Council page links to live council streaming, and the council calendar has agendas, minutes and video for each meeting.
• School board: the district says meetings are livestreamed on Microsoft Teams and recorded; the September 22 meeting was also posted on the district’s YouTube channel.

More detail on speaking, delegations and public hearings is on our council meetings page. Dates can shift, so check the calendars before you head out.

Who was elected

• Township of Langley results
• City of Langley results
• School trustee results

Something out of date? Tell us.