Georgia Strait Alliance is the only citizens' group focused on protecting the marine environment in and around the whole Strait of Georgia – Canada's most at-risk natural environment, and the place where 70% of British Columbians live, work and play. We are committed to a future for our region that includes clean water and air, healthy wild salmon runs, rich marine life and natural areas, and sustainable communities.

October 30, 2014

It’s local election time!

On November 15th, British Columbians will go to the polls to vote for local leaders to represent their communities.

While local elections may not generate as much attention on the airwaves or around the water cooler as provincial and federal races, they are vitally important – and not only at the local level.  Newly elected mayors, councillors and regional representatives will not only make countless decisions that will affect daily life in our communities – they can also play a major role in a much wider political arena.

For many of us concerned about the local and global impacts of pipeline projects and other fossil fuel development in BC, it increasingly feels like the provincial and federal governments are simply not listening. But communities like Burnaby (which is using all the mechanisms at the city’s disposal to prevent the Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion, including a drawn-out legal battle to prevent the company from carrying out invasive surveying work on Burnaby Mountain conservation lands), or Kitimat (where last April, citizens rejected the Northern Gateway project in a plebiscite) are showing us how local governments can flex some serious political muscles and be influential players in this vital national conversation.

We need more local champions like these, and the upcoming municipal elections are an important opportunity to spark community debates about the risks and benefits of Kinder Morgan and other energy projects, and for citizens to choose representatives who will stand up for the rights of communities over fossil fuel companies.

Georgia Strait Alliance is working in strategic locations around the Strait to encourage such debates during the election period, and in particular to raise awareness among candidates and voters of the risks coastal municipalities would face in the event of an oil spill. 

If you live on the Sunshine Coast or the Nanaimo and Parksville areas,click here to find out where your candidates stand on these issues, and other useful information as you prepare to vote on November 15th.

Wherever you live, if you’d like to see your local government be a champion for the coast and the climate, here are three things you can do to make the most of the upcoming local elections
  1. If you have five minutes: ready, set vote! Visit your municipality’s website and make sure you know when and how to vote.  Talk to your friends and family and make sure they’re ready to vote as well.
  2.  If you have half an hour: write an email. Contact your candidates (see here for an email directory of candidates running across the province) and ask them their views on issues of concern to you (you can use our candidate survey as a guide). You could also consider writing a letter to the editor of your local paper – a great way to contribute to the debate in the wider community.
  3.  If you have an evening to spare: attend an all-candidates’ meeting in your area to find out more about your candidates, and ask them questions about what matters to you (feel free to use ours). Your local newspaper or municipality’s website is the best place to find out dates for the meetings.
If you would like help with any of the above – who to contact, what to write, no question is too big or too small – we’re here to help! Contact alexandra@georgiastrait.org or call 604-633-0530.
Whether it’s pipeline and tanker projects that worry you, or other local environmental or community issues, November 15th is too important an opportunity to miss – so mark your calendars, and get out and vote! 

October 29, 2014

Water's Edge Day draws Vancouverites to the shore


For Vancouverites, their city's Waterfront is many things: it's a place where they live, where they work, where they move around, where they access and protect beautiful nature - and not least, it's a place where they come together to connect with other members of the community.

On October 5th, we celebrated everything that makes our shoreline special together with citizens at the Vancouver's first Water's Edge Day. Almost 1,000 residents came down to the Maritime Museum to embark on boat tours of English Bay, to go on a bird walk, a paddle tour in kayaks and Tsleil-Waututh canoes, to join an art workshop or win great prizes.

Click through our photo gallery to see all the fun things that were going on at the waterfront on this beautiful October day. Did you miss out on Water's Edge Day? Make sure to join us next year!

Our next Waterfront event in Vancouver is already in the works. In January 2015, we are hosting a Citizens' Forum to envision what a positive future for our shoreline could look like and what can be done to make it a reality. This is your chance to get together with other citizens for a fun, interactive Forum and to become part of our effort to build a shoreline for all. Sign up to receive an invitation.

Water's Edge Day 2014

By Georgia Strait Alliance

  • The electric "E-Tolley" pulls into the harbour

    By Georgia Strait Alliance
  • Bird watching on an all-electric motor boat

    By Georgia Strait Alliance
  • Birdwatching

    By Georgia Strait Alliance
  • Bird watching fascinates all ages

    By Georgia Strait Alliance
  • Building a paper "Ocean Flotilla"

    By Georgia Strait Alliance
  • Kayak Tours

    By Georgia Strait Alliance
  • Kayak Tours

    By Georgia Strait Alliance
  • Getting ready for a kayak tour

    By Georgia Strait Alliance
  • Kayak Tours

    By Georgia Strait Alliance
  • Salty the Seagull

    By Georgia Strait Alliance
  • Getting ready for a paddle with Takaya Tours

    By Georgia Strait Alliance
  • Takaya Canoe Tour

    By Georgia Strait Alliance
  • Takaya Canoe Tour

    By Georgia Strait Alliance
  • Art Exhibition

    By Georgia Strait Alliance
  • Art Exhibition

    By Georgia Strait Alliance
  • Water's Edge Day Fun

    By Georgia Strait Alliance
  • Squidy Man!

    By Georgia Strait Alliance
  • Water's Edge Day Smile

    By Georgia Strait Alliance
  • Show Us Your Waterfront

    By Georgia Strait Alliance
  • The Vancouver Aquarium's touch tanks, a big hit

    By Georgia Strait Alliance
  • Touch Tanks

    By Georgia Strait Alliance
  • Touch Tanks

    By Georgia Strait Alliance
  • Gabriel George Storytelling

    By Georgia Strait Alliance
  • Gabriel George Storytelling

    By Georgia Strait Alliance
  • Prize Draw

    By Georgia Strait Alliance

     Thanks to our wonderful sponsors and partners for making Water's Edge Day possible: