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About

Every Day Advocates

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About

Our Team

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Federal Election 2021

MEET OUR ENDORSED CANDIDATES FOR #ELXN44

Expert Panel

The Expert Panel makes the final decisions on who GreenPAC endorses during our provincial and federal endorsement election campaigns. The Panel is made up of credible, independent members who have no ties to political parties and are not on the payroll of any environmental NGOs. Panel members reflect a diversity of views from various parts of the country and areas of expertise. Meet our 2021 Federal Endorsement Expert Panel!

Shirley Thompson

Associate Professor in the Faculty of Environment, Earth and Resources, University of Manitoba

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Paul Wilkinson

President of Paul F. Wilkinson & Associates Inc.

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Meko Nicholas

Sarah (Sally) Otto

David Runnals

Executive Director of the First Nations Lands Management Resource Centre

Director, Liber Ero Fellowship Program and Killam University Professor at the University of British Columbia

Sustainable Prosperity Fellow & Visiting Professor at the Institute for the Environment, University of Ottawa

2021 Federal Election Endorsees

For #elxn44 we conducted research and sought input and nominations from parties, candidates, environmental organizations and Canadians. We asked about candidates’ knowledge, experience and leadership in their communities, workplaces and parties for the environment and environmental justice. We also looked at winnability, based on the past three elections and current polls. Endorsements are determined by the GreenPAC Expert Panel, an independent group of provincial and national environmental specialists with no party affiliations. The Panel focuses on track record and does not look at party platforms, campaign commitments or debate performances.

To learn more about our endorsements, check out our FAQ.

Marilou Alarie (Bloc, Brome—Missisquoi) worked as an agricultural producer until her successful run for councillor for St. Bruno de Montarville in 2013. As councillor, she championed the environment on key files like public transit, land use planning and conservation. Alarie has been widely recognized for her work to protect the Forêt des Hirondelles, a critical habitat for native flora and fauna on Mount Saint Bruno in southern Québec. Her efforts earned her the 2017 prize from the Coalition Verte du Grand Montréal. Alarie has served on the Board of Nature Québec since 2018.

Dan Albas (Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola) has served as Vice-Chair of the House of Commons’ Environment Standing Committee from 2020-21, working collaboratively with members of other parties to produce all-party reports on topics like electric vehicles and enforcement of the Canadians Environmental Protection Act. He has been an MP since 2011. As Shadow Minister for Environment and Climate Change, he has worked to share information about environmental challenges and solutions within his caucus and is recognized as a key driver of his party's climate policies. Albas has also written extensively on how the tax code can support the rollout of cleaner technology and championed a green energy project within his community in partnership with a local First Nation. Prior to his election federally, he served as a Penticton City Councilor, and Vice-Chair of the city's Climate Action Committee.

Anjali Appadurai (NDP, Vancouver Granville) is a seasoned advocate for environmental, social and economic justice. She has advocated for holding fossil fuel companies accountable for the climate crisis and for climate policies at the UN climate conferences. Appadurai has worked for climate action in roles with the West Coast Environmental Law, the Sierra Club BC, the Padma Centre for Climate Justice and the Climate Emergency Unit. Her work for climate justice includes publications, social media advocacy and roles in international people-powered campaigns. Appadurai holds a Bachelor's degree in Global Politics, International Trade Law and Climate Policy from the College of the Atlantic.

Taylor Bachrach (NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley) has been an MP since 2019. He was Municipal Councillor of the Village of Telkwa in 2008-2011; and Mayor of the Town of Smithers in 2011-2019. As mayor, Bachrach advocated for active transportation, recycling, renewable energy and protecting northwest BC from crude oil. As MP he led efforts in the last parliamentary session to protect the North Coast Oil Tanker Moratorium. He was also a member of the Municipal Climate Leadership Council and advised the BC government as a member of its Climate Solutions Council. He worked alongside First Nations in Northwest BC on grassroots environmental campaigns to protect their land from coalbed methane drilling, open-net fish farms, and the construction of the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline. As an interim member of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development, he advocated for changes to strengthen proposed legislation on environmental racism and justice and for the addition of a 2026 emissions target in Canada's new climate accountability legislation.

Terry Beech (Liberal, Burnaby North–Seymour) has been championing environmental issues from climate action to ocean protection since serving as Chair of the Environment Committee for the City of Nanaimo, a role he filled at the age of 18. As a Young Global Leader in the World Economic Forum, he has attended global conferences that brought together international leaders to discuss climate change and ocean protection. Beech has served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard, as well as Transport, Science and Economic Development. He has been an outspoken advocate for the environment on and off Parliament Hill, sharing quarterly environment reports on his website, standing up against the Trans Mountain Pipeline and proposed Teck Frontier project, and lobbying for the conservation of Pacific Salmon. Beech studied entrepreneurship and finance at Oxford.

Richard Cannings (NDP, South Okanagan—West Kootenay) was elected in 2015 and appointed Deputy Critic for Natural Resources. He has sponsored three bills: to promote the use of wood in federal public works projects; to add various lakes and rivers to Navigable Waters Protection Act; and to require the Environment Minister to respond to a Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) report. He has advocated for a low-carbon economy, with more stringent carbon targets, low-carbon transportation infrastructure, and training for clean energy jobs. He has strongly encouraged cross-party cooperation on sustainability issues. Prior to being elected, Cannings was a biologist, a professor at the University of British Columbia, and author of several books on the natural environment. He served as a board member of the Nature Conservancy of Canada, and a member of COSEWIC, the B.C. Environmental Appeal Board and the B.C. Forest Appeals Commission.

Michael Chong (Conservative, Wellington-Halton Hills) has been a Member of Parliament since 2004, advancing climate change discussions in his party ever since. He supported the Kyoto Protocol in 2004 despite his party’s opposition, and worked within it to change their position in favour of the Protocol in 2006. He worked with various orders of government and with his federal colleagues to help establish a new national park in the GTA, Rouge Urban National Park. He co-founded the All-Party Climate Caucus in 2011 with Green Party leader Elizabeth May, which regularly brings together MPs from all parties to collaborate on climate initiatives. He has demonstrated interest in improving policies to protect Canada’s Great Lakes. In the 43rd Parliament, Chong called on the federal government to increase funding for the Great Lakes Fishery Commission and shift the Commission's responsibility from Fisheries and Oceans Canada to Global Affairs Canada to give it higher priority. In the 2017 Conservative leadership race, he presented an ambitious plan to address climate change, advocating for economic policy that would reduce emissions and encourage economic growth through a revenue-neutral carbon tax. Chong currently serves as Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, strengthening climate policy’s presence in Canadian foreign policy.

Julie Dabrusin (Liberal, Toronto-Danforth) has been an effective environmental advocate since being elected to Parliament in 2015. Dabrusin's environmental work started at a community level, volunteering with parks, preventing food waste, and promoting active transportation. As an MP, Dabrusin has championed green investment, including: active transportation, retrofitting buildings, and investments in Toronto’s ravines and Lake Ontario. She has advocated for modernizing the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) to include a “right to a healthy environment” in the legislation. Her advocacy has supported a ban on single-use plastics and building a circular economy. Dabrusin is a strong voice for carbon pollution pricing, opposing oil sands expansion, and encouraging the transition to a low-carbon economy. As the only urban member of the All-Party Agricultural Caucus, she has advocated for support to reduce carbon emissions and innovation for more sustainable agriculture.

Phil De Luna (Green, Toronto-St. Paul’s) has worked primarily on strategic clean energy policies, conducting a wide array of research over the years to explore clean energy and other technological approaches to addressing climate change. Since February 2019, he has served as a Director at the National Research Council of Canada, working at the intersection of public, private, and academic sectors to develop impactful, science-backed climate change solutions. This includes developing a 7-year, $57M collaborative research program on Canadian clean energy technology, and the advancement of transformative technologies helping to achieve national net-zero emissions by 2050. His role as Vice-Chair on the Board of Directors at Carbon Management Canada demonstrates his expertise in clean energy development. He has been involved in numerous organizations aiming to explore cleantech solutions and provide policy recommendations. As the recipient of prestigious accolades — being named one of Forbers’ Top 30 Under 30 in 2019 for Energy and a Clean50 Emerging Leader in 2021 — his entrepreneurial capabilities and clean energy knowledge has garnered recent, widespread recognition.

Tria Donaldson (NDP, Regina-Lewvan) is a climate and Indigenous rights activist, advocating on issues from climate to housing security both on- and off-reserve. Her extensive involvement with environmental organizations includes roles with the Sierra Club, Council of Canadians, goBeyond and BC Wilderness Committee. Donaldson has published and runs a blog on climate action and social activism.

Donaldson is a founding member of the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition. In 2009, she organized the PowerShift Canada event and trained hundreds of young climate organizers. In 2013, she attended the United Nations climate talks with the Canadian Youth Delegation. She was named one of Canada's top 30 environmentalists under the age of 30 by Explore Magazine.

Terry Duguid (Liberal, Winnipeg South) has a wealth of experience in both the private and public sectors. Before being elected MP in 2015, Duguid served as a Winnipeg City Councillor, and as Manitoba’s Clean Environment Commissioner. He also directed the Manitoba Climate Change Task Force’s first action plan to grow Manitoba’s green energy economy. A tireless advocate for Lake Winnipeg, Duguid was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, where he led the federal government’s efforts to advance freshwater protection in Canada. Duguid holds a Master’s Degree in Environmental Science from the University of Calgary.

Dr. Kirsty Duncan (Liberal, Etobicoke North) is a former professor and researcher who specialized in climate change, climatology, and environmental health. She consulted for Environment Canada on the health impacts of climate change and served as a lead author for North America on two reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Duncan previously served as Minister of Science and represented Canada at G7 and G20 meetings. A fierce defender of the environment, she continues to be a strong advocate for science, evidence-based decision making, and science literacy, while also championing equity, diversity, and inclusion in science.

Leah Gazan (NDP, Winnipeg Centre) is an educator by trade and has a long history in the climate justice movement. She has fought for the recognition of the right to a safe, clean, healthy environment as a human right and has been mobilizing people across Canada around the adoption and implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In the last session of Parliament, Gazan introduced The Climate Emergency Action Act, a private member's bill to enshrine the legal right to a healthy environment in Canada. She was featured in Maclean's 2021 Power List. Gazan is a member of the Wood Mountain Lakota Nation, Treaty 4 Territory, Saskatchewan.

Karina Gould (Liberal, Burlington) has been an MP since 2015, relentlessly advocating for climate change and environmental protection since then. Her conservation efforts have included her work on exploring the development of more national parks and defence of the Greenbelt — having been a vocal opponent of the proposed highway that would cut through this ecologically vital area. She has been a strong advocate for the Cootes to Escarpment EcoPark, which works to protect, restore, and connect over 9,000 acres of natural lands in Burlington and around Hamilton. Gould has helped secure various environmental commitments, including the doubling of international climate financing as Minister of International Development, and support for wetlands rehabilitation programs in her riding.

Matthew Green (NDP, Hamilton Centre) has served as MP since 2019, following four years as Councillor with the City of Hamilton. In his work as an elected official, and earlier as a small business owner and as the former executive director of the Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion, Green has consistently advocated for initiatives and policies that promote environmental protection, racial and social equity, and economic justice.

The first person of colour to be elected to Hamilton City Council, Green brought forward the Blue Dot Motion, making Hamilton the first city in Ontario to adopt an environmental bill of rights. As MP he has advocated for transit solutions for Hamilton and frequently speaks up in Committee and in the House on Indigenous rights, inequity and climate action.

Steven Guilbeault (Liberal, Laurier-Sainte-Marie) has been a lifelong advocate for strengthening environmental stewardship. In 1993, he co-founded Action for Solidarity, Equity, Environment and Development, now known as Équiterre, Québec’s largest environmental group. Guilbeault joined Greenpeace Canada in 1997 as Director and Campaign Manager, before serving as Quebec Bureau Chief in 2000. He served on the board of the Agence de L’Efficacité Énergétique from 2007-2009, chaired the Government of Quebec’s Committee on Emerging Renewable Energy from 2009-2011, and has held seats on climate change advisory committees for three successive Quebec governments, as well as the government of Canada. He is a member of Quebec’s Cercle des Phénix, an honorary society for environmentalists, and is an honorary fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. French newspaper Le Monde has called him one of the world’s top 50 players in sustainable development.

Lori Idlout (NDP, Nunavut) is a lawyer currently working as the legal counsel for the Nuluujaat Land Guardians, advocating against the Baffinland Iron Mines Mary River Project and the Phase 2 proposal to expand the project. She served as technical advisor for the Ikajutit Hunters and Trappers Organization of Arctic Bay, raising understanding of the risks of offshore oil and gas expansion on the marine ecosystem and local food security. As an Inuk woman, Idlout has also advocated to address the health and well-being of Indigenous communities, including by co-founding the Embrace Life Council in Nunavut, an organization to improve mental health, and the Coalition of Nunavut District Education Authorities.

Gord Johns (NDP, Courtenay—Alberni) is a longtime green entrepreneur and advocate for environmental accountability, coastal protection, oceans and Indigenous rights. He was a founding member of the Victoria-based Green Collective, a group of locally-owned and operated businesses focused on sustainable products. He ran his own natural clothing store and a bike rental business for over 10 years. Elected to Tofino council in 2008, Johns’ environmental leadership included helping to develop hiking and cycling trail networks in the area.

Elected MP in 2015, Johns has served as Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans and as a member of the All-Party Climate Caucus. As an MP, Johns is a strong voice on local and national environmental challenges, intervening in the House of Commons and committee frequently on issues from oceans pollution, to fish farms to environmental racism to active transit. He is the founder and co-sponsor of UNESCO Biosphere Day on Parliament Hill and, in the last session of Parliament, brought forward a private member’s bill on a national cycling strategy.

Peter Julian (NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby) is one of the founding members and former Executive Director of the Council of Canadians. As an MP since 2004, he served in the last session of Parliament as NDP House Leader and Finance Critic. Julian has been an active member of the House, bringing forward environmental motions and bills in every parliament, including to combat systemic racism, for corporate social responsibility, to halt the Trans Mountain pipeline, for the investment in a Green New Deal and more. He frequently collaborates with labour and environmental groups and has worked with the Qayqayt First Nation to terminate the Trans Mountain pipeline project.

Anna Keenan (Green, Malpeque) has been involved in environmental advocacy since 2005, focusing on climate change, community organizing and movement-building. She has worked hard to communicate the science of climate change, including delivering over 50 climate science presentations as part of Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project in 2017. She has campaigned on renewable energy and other climate solutions with organizations such as the Australian Conservation Foundation, Avaaz and Greenpeace. Keenan has pushed Facebook to shift its data centres to renewable energy, partnered with public sector unions, advocated with youth delegates at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and helped enable climate-concerned community groups to drive political change. She is currently Global Digital Organising Manager for 350.org. Keenan holds degrees in economics and science.

Larry Maguire (Conservative, Brandon-Souris) is a farmer and former President of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association. He first entered politics in 1999 as an MLA in Manitoba. He was appointed environment critic, where he lobbied for improvements to the provincial Water Rights Act, and was later appointed critic for transportation, conservation and intergovernmental affairs.

Elected MP in 2013, Maguire was an early champion of the Assiniboine River Basin Initiative, the restoration of Pelican Lake and improved sustainability in beef production in Manitoba. In Parliament, Maguire has worked for legislation to prohibit the export of plastic to foreign countries for final disposal and in support of land conservation, carbon sequestration and rural community support.

Paul Manly (Green, Nanaimo-Ladysmith) has been an outspoken advocate for environmental protection while in Parliament. Prior to being elected MP in 2019, Manly served as a director and board member to several bodies, and worked as a campaigner for environmental organizations such as Pollution Probe, Friends of the Earth, and GreenPeace. He has produced documentaries and shorts on environmental issues such as the TMX Pipeline, logging in BC, and drinking water protection. In parliament, Manly introduced a private member’s bill (Bill C-261) to ban the shipping of thermal coal from Canadian ports. Manly has a long and strong history of public advocacy and support for environmental causes.

Elizabeth May (Green, Saanich-Gulf Islands) has been an environmental champion her whole life. She is widely recognized for her voice on major local and national environmental issues past and present, from herbicide use to acid rain to climate change. From 1986-1988, she served as Senior Policy Advisor to the federal Minister of the Environment, establishing federal-provincial and US-Canada environmental agreements. She served as Executive Director of the Sierra Club of Canada from 1989-2006. An MP since 2011, May has worked tirelessly to pursue environmental and climate progress in Parliament, presenting hundreds of amendments to strengthen environmental legislation and helping to move Canada to embrace a 1.5-degree target at COP21. May co-founded the All-Party Climate Caucus to advance cross-party collaboration on the climate crisis. She also serves as co-convener of Global Greens Parliamentarians, championing environmental issues worldwide.

Dan Mazier (Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa) has been a major advocate for sustainable agriculture, natural infrastructure and renewable energy. He co-founded the Elton Energy Cooperative, a provincial initiative committed to developing community-based renewable energy projects in Manitoba. As President of Keystone Agriculture Producers, he advocated for natural solutions to protect agriculture and biodiversity. Mazier played a key role in the development of Manitoba’s Green Plan, carbon pricing system and biofuel innovation strategy. Elected as an MP in 2019, Mazier served as Deputy Shadow Minister for Environment and Climate Change and on the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans. He formerly served on the boards of several environment-focused Manitoba organizations.

Susan McArthur (Conservative, Glengarry-Prescott-Russell) has decades of experience in sustainable finance. As Managing Partner at GreenSoil Investments, she enabled innovation and technologies for smarter and more efficient use of energy and water, sustainable agriculture and building efficiency. She has worked with government and investors for the classification of natural assets as a recognized asset class (just like shares and bonds). McArthur was recognized with the Clean50 award in 2013.

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