Updates from E-Comm 9-1-1 | 911 in British Columbia

October 2026 Update

We’re pleased to share our monthly update highlighting key activities at E-Comm as we enhance our services for first responder partners and the public. View the PDF version of this update here.

Service level targets exceeded for 9-1-1, police call-taking

9-1-1 service saw 97% of calls answered in 5 seconds or less (target: 95%). Emergency police call-taking reached 91% in the Lower Mainland, and 90% on Vancouver Island (target: 88% of calls answered in 10 seconds).

Non-emergency service levels

Non-emergency call-taking was at 81% in the Lower Mainland, (target: 75% of calls answered in 3 minutes or less). Non-emergency reached 84% for Vancouver Island, (target: 80% of calls answered in 3 minutes or less).

Fire service levels

Fire call-taking reached 94% (target: 90% of calls answered in 15 seconds), continuing the trend of strong service for fire agency partners despite a +4% increase in call volume comparative to the previous year.

Call volumes continue to increase

9-1-1 (+1%), police emergency (+0.5% Lower Mainland, +1.5% Island) and non-emergency call volumes (+3.6% Lower Mainland, +2.8% Island) were all up from the same period last year.

Note on service levels/call volumes: With the phased transition to the Next Generation 9-1-1 underway, E-Comm is refining its data-collection methodology to account for changes within the new system; we will closely monitor any resulting impacts to our service levels and call volumes, and report out on these in future updates.

Action Plan updates

E-Comm continues to implement its Action Plan in response to the independent provincial review. Below are some key priorities we advanced this month:

Finance Management: E-Comm continued engagement with partners on our new Financial Model, including their preferences for use of operations reserve and accumulated surplus allocations to help mitigate 2027 and 2028 service fees. We also shared a new Financial Model FAQ and summary of the EY business case on the value of the consolidated model with partners who participated in this summer’s engagement sessions.
Stakeholder Engagement: E-Comm is launching new working groups for 9-1-1 Call Services and Police Call Services to bring partner agencies together to provide feedback, identify opportunities to improve service and strengthen relationships. Initial meetings are being scheduled for November, with invitations going out in October.

Next Generation 9-1-1 updates

NG9-1-1 "Go-Lives" Transitions: E-Comm successfully completed its largest migration to the new digital network on October 6, with Lower Mainland communities now transitioned to NG9-1-1. This represents the greatest call volume and marks the completion of all 9-1-1 queue migrations. The phased rollout began September 22 and includes Vancouver Island, Interior and Northern B.C., with the first NG9-1-1 call received from Port Hardy. Next, E-Comm will continue the phased transition of E-Comm’s 71 fire and police agencies, and project partners including the Saanich Fire Department, BC RCMP and BC Emergency Health Services.
NG9-1-1 in the News: E-Comm’s external communications rollout generated strong media interest, with stories reaching a potential audience of over 10 million. Interim CEO Nancy Blair, participated in three media interviews, helping raise awareness of the transition, reinforcing that callers should continue to call 9-1-1 as they do today, and explained what’s changing now - including the new automated callback system for quickly abandoned calls - and what capabilities are planned for the future. Read the news release or watch the full interview on Global BC here.