Who will be your champion in Ottawa?

With ten years left to put the brakes on runaway climate change, it will be up to the next federal government to either tackle it head on – or let us all go over the cliff edge.

Who do you want representing you in Ottawa as we grapple with the existential threat of our time? Will your MP step up with everything they’ve got? Do they have the courage to challenge the status quo in pursuit of a climate safe future, and put principle above party if needed?

The federal election is two weeks away. Maybe you’re still deciding who to vote for; maybe your mind is already made up. Either way, now is the time to reach out to the candidates running in your riding, find out where they stand on the issues you care most about, and start building a relationship with your future MP.

Asking questions of your candidates also helps to cement climate change as a top ballot box issue, and builds our power to push for bold action after election day.

Here are two great ways to get to know your future MP:

All-candidates debates

These are an opportunity to get a real feel for the candidates – who they are and what they think beyond their party platform. Most ridings will have several all-candidates meetings scheduled; your community news site is a good place to check. Here’s a list of questions we think are important for candidates to answer, and here are four pro tips for making your voice heard at all-candidates forums.

Email your candidates

Get it from the horse’s mouth! Ask your candidates directly what they will personally commit to doing about the issues that matter most to you. We’ve got a tool that allows you to email all the candidates running in your riding with a single click. You can use our sample letter, or fill in your own questions.

A record of commitments

However you reach out to your candidates, please let us know what they say. Send their replies to info@dogwoodbc.ca. We’ll keep a record of their responses so we can hit the ground running after October 21.

It’s looking more and more like we could end up with a minority government. That means local MPs will play an outsized role in determining how Canada responds to the climate emergency. Let’s get their commitments in writing now so we can hold MPs accountable every single day for the next four years.