On a warm Sunday afternoon in Saskatoon, a different kind of welcome was waiting for Canada’s premiers and prime minister. Just hours before the First Ministers’ Meeting kicked off behind closed doors on June 1st, people began gathering by the river under the Vimy Memorial Bandstand. Little did the country's decision-makers know, a crowd of nearly 60 people would assemble just blocks away to call for a bold shift in direction. In less than a week (and with just two days’ noti

Celebrating Successes and Embracing Challenges This year has been one of transformation and transition, with incredible victories from our hubs network across Canada. From policy wins, inspiring events, and growing our capacity for change, we’ve seen the power of local grassroots organizing. Together, we’ve celebrated milestones, overcome challenges, and created ripples of change that will resonate far into the future. Let’s take a moment to reflect on the achievements we’ve

Let's meet "Seniors For Climate," a citizen initiative led by several of our climate reality leaders aimed at building a cross-Canada community of seniors committed to creating a livable future.   Interview with Roland Montpellier, participant at our Advocacy Training - Prairies   Edition, member of the Seniors For Climate project. 1. Can you introduce the Seniors For Climate initiative to those who may not be familiar   with it?   Seniors For Climate is a Canada-wide initiat

As Manitobans head to the polls tomorrow to choose their next provincial government, it's the perfect moment to reflect on the impactful journey that climate advocates have embarked on during this election campaign. We've joined hands with numerous partner organizations, including Manitoba’s Climate Action Team , engaged in enlightening discussions on strategic priorities with the Manitoba Energy Justice Coalition , and Better Manitoba , and partnered with 26 organizations to

"The councilors do their best to vote for the best interests of the citizens but need to see what the voters want as well in order to make decisions." Can you introduce yourself for those who do not know you?   Nanaimo Climate Action Hub is a non-profit, grassroots, membership driven organization with the goal of advancing climate action in Nanaimo and the surrounding areas through advocacy, local initiatives, and collaboration with other organizations. We are a non-partisan

The National Climate League is an annual initiative that tracks the performance of municipalities on 26 climate and sustainability indicators The National Climate League is an annual initiative that tracks the performance of municipalities on 26 climate and sustainability indicators—from green space, to housing affordability, to renewable energy, to transit ridership. Every year we publish our results in the National Climate League Standings, comparing how municipalities acro

"We will not be passive participants in the implementation of the global biodiversity framework at the action level" Emma Kirke is a Campus corps member at the University of Waterloo. She believes in the power of storytelling to promote sustainable solutions. She has experience in biodiversity conservation and public policy and is particularly interested in the application of nature-based climate solutions at the municipal level. Emma attended COP 15 last December as a member

Marouane attended COP 27 and according to him, "there is a role for everyone as long as we work together" Marouane Joundi is a project manager at the Rivières Foundation. He holds a master's degree in political science, and he was actively involved in the student movement for climate action in 2019 and 2020. Originally from Morocco, Marouane participated in COP 27 with great sensitivity for international justice issues and the impacts of climate change on the African continen

His engagement: The thing that motivates him is his hometown of Calgary, Alberta. He does not want to see the community get left behind by the transition just because of a lack of foresight, vision or the courage to recognize that a change is coming to an otherwise pretty comfy level of existence. According to him, although it's a roller coaster economy that is married very tightly to oil and gas in Alberta, there are also enormous opportunities specifically in this province

His Advocacy: Dan has developed a unique model to transform public transportation  by engaging students to increase public transit ridership. He was involved in the implementation of the Transit High School Bus Pass Program in Kingston, ON which won a 2018 Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Sustainable Communities Award.   About me:  I have a background in commerce, strategic sustainability, and complex systems, and I am driven by my concern for the environment. My p

Climate Reality Canada Team Profile About me: Originally from Saskatoon, I now live in Winnipeg on Treaty 1 territory. I have a master's degree in natural resource management from the University of Manitoba, and a background in research, organizing and advocacy, and food sovereignty. Past experiences include leading community-based conversations across Canada on the connections between climate change and income insecurity with the Green Resilience Project, and contributing to

by Charles Hodgson I attended the Climate Reality training in San Francisco in 2012 after having a bit of an awakening in 2009 around the time of the Copenhagen climate summit—COP 15.   It was at a dinner party I was hosting. One of our guests turned out to be a climate change denier and we argued furiously. I woke up the

By Grant Linney Welcome to The Future We Choose , a series of monthly articles on climate change and what we must do about it. While our attention is on COVID-19, the frequency, duration, and intensity of global extreme weather events—heat domes, droughts, wildfires, atmospheric rivers and flooding—has increased dramatically. Climate scientists tell us that we have eight short years to limit global warming to 1.5 C. We are already at 1.2 C. We must invest in an immediate and

By Lianne Barnes Areas are being devalued due to newfound flood-risk zones, and rising sea levels and wildfires make it next to impossible to rebuild homes where they were lost.   A  new report  from the Canadian Institute for Climate Choices (CICC), a federally funded research institute, revealed some shocking discoveries about the current and future state of Canada’s infrastructure last month. From private dwelling homes to public roads and powerlines, the very structures w

By Grant Linney Late last month, I returned from six restorative days of canoeing in Killarney Provincial Park amidst fall colours, good weather and close friends. It reminded me of an Indigenous distinction between spending much-needed time in nature, in “what made you” versus our all-too-common experience of being distracted by the superficial world of “what you made”.  As a career outdoor and environmental educator, I seek to expose people of all ages to the beauty, wonder

By Sydney Whiting Sherri Mitchell  Weh’na Ha’mu Kwasset is an Indigenous lawyer, environmental and social activist, and visionary. The following is a personal reflection to her powerful essay, “Indigenous Prophecy and Mother Earth,” published in the   All We Can Save   anthology.    Through the perpetration of harmful colonial attitudes, the traditional wisdom of Indigenous peoples, knowledge-keepers, and elders have long been neglected in settings of academia, political and

By Jazmine Cate L. Pama The doers and sufferers have been familiar with the term “Climate Crisis” in recent years. But what is it really? It’s the maturity of humanity’s little baby called “climate change.” It’s so normalized that it’s commercialized by the corporate world, which is also the same world that contributes a huge chunk to this crisis. It’s so normalized that we don’t treat it as what it is - an emergency.   If it’s something hugely present in our daily lives, the

By Sofia Aldovino All things come with a price tag and you have to decide whether you're willing to pay the cost. It began this way: Inside the comfort of your living room, you're watching the television. You face the news with trepidation as you found out that fifty years from now, the planet you're living in will not be the same as exactly it is today. Expect a world of melting ice caps, rising global temperatures, mass extinctions of species and coral reefs, starvation, an

By Judiel Marie del Mar Grassroots movements have sprouted all over the world in an attempt to push for their respective advocacies. Many would say that this is the power of collective action. What we call the "bottom-up" approach consists of these tiny sparks of change at a local level that brings about ripples that eventually drive the decision-makers to flow with the waves. With grassroots actions, the people are empowered to actively advocate for change in government poli

By Sydney Whiting Sydney Whiting is an environmental activist, Grade 12 student, and a leader within the Climate Hub of Southern Alberta (@climatehubsa). She cares about the intersection of government, youth, and environmental action, prompting her to pursue studies in political science in the fall. Despite the modest dip in greenhouse emissions  due to the pandemic, Canadian communities 一 and our media channels 一 have been grappling with an endless stream of wildfires, flood