The hundreds of thousands of Canadians who marched in the Global Climate Strikes — including over 100,000 in Vancouver — have a simple demand for candidates competing to win election on Oct. 21: acknowledge that we are in a climate emergency and provide a concrete plan for getting us out of it.
Polls suggest that a majority of Canadians view this as a top election issue. And when we asked readers of The Tyee to identify election questions that they want doggedly pursued, this was the number one pick: “Do you agree Canada should be on an emergency footing regarding climate change, and if so what actions will your party take?”
Close behind was this: “How do we transition to a green economy without causing mass unemployment and upheaval?”
So a week ago, we asked those questions where it might matter most, in four ridings across the country that are already facing dire impacts from global heating and could be transformed beyond recognition over the coming decades. They include Richmond-Centre, B.C.; Prince Albert, Sask.; Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, N.S.; and Nunavut. Last Thursday, The Tyee asked more than a dozen candidates competing in those ridings for their climate emergency plans. We sent them a reminder on Monday. (Two Green candidates didn’t make the list: Kerri Wall in Prince Albert and Douglas Roy in Nunavut, as their websites lacked contact info, and in Roy’s case even a photo or bio.)