BC District Pushing for European-Style Elevators

The District of Saanich in Vancouver Island, British Columbia (BC), Canada, recently voted unanimously to send a resolution to the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM), calling on the province to “legalize” smaller and less expensive European-style elevators in low- and mid-rise buildings in which an elevator would otherwise not be installed, Yahoo! News reports. A 2024 report from the Center for Building in North America found elevator prices in Canada and the U.S. are three times higher than in comparable buildings in Europe. Currently, BC abides by the Canadian Standards Association’s B44 guide, which requires large elevator cabins that can accommodate a stretcher. Due to the cost, most builders avoid including elevators in walk-up townhouses or small apartment buildings. The 2024 BC Building Code requires elevators in all residential buildings, although large one- and two-story buildings and small buildings with three stories or fewer are exempt. The hope is that allowing more compact and affordable elevators will encourage developers to include them even in buildings where they aren’t currently required by code. Additionally, maintaining European-style elevators costs less. If adopted at the UBCM convention, the resolution would become part of the organization’s formal lobbying effort to the province. The province would then consider public consultation on the matter and could bring the discussion to a national level. The UBCM convention is scheduled for September 22–26 in Victoria.