A call to climate justice champions: run! (for office)
My friend and colleague Bushra Asghar, running for the NDP in Mississauga in the 2025 federal election
[The following piece has also been published in Canada’s National Observer here.]
With Prime Minister Mark Carney having secured his coveted majority, and a federal election likely three years away, now may seem an odd time to issue this appeal. But I beg to differ.
We desperately need more climate justice champions of strong will in office, and the time to start preparing is now. In the wake of a string of shattered temperature records and the many manifestations of the polycrisis of our times, we need leaders ready to treat emergencies as emergencies, and those with imagination to meet the economic and political crisis brought on by the Trump presidency with bold and creative solutions.
If that’s you, then throw caution to the wind and toss your name into the political ring.
As the great climate warrior Bill McKibben recently wrote, “What I’ve learned by long observation of the politics around energy and climate: to make real change, it helps immensely to have champions.”
Climate justice champions have chosen in the past to run for a few political parties at the federal level. Some have run for the Greens, of course (although the federal prospects there are grim). A couple have cast their lot with the Bloc Québécois. There are a few who currently hold seats with the Liberals. They mostly appear outwardly happy to be on the government benches. But privately, there are surely many feeling disoriented about what they signed on with, given Carney’s abrupt right turn and many climate policy surrenders, so much so that former minister of environment and climate change, Steven Guilbeault, felt compelled to exit the cabinet.
I suspect most climate justice champions musing about federal politics would be considering the NDP, especially under its new management. The idea of casting one’s lot with a party low in the polls and without official party status may lack appeal. But consider that three years hence, the shine will be off the Carney government. True, he has enjoyed a longer honeymoon than most, but if one thing in politics can be assured, it is that this will not last. As the late Stephen Lewis presciently told a federal NDP convention 10 years ago, when then prime minister Justin Trudeau was still enjoying the afterglow of his recent ascendance to that position, “I’ve been through it all before … the bloom may not yet be off the Justin rose. It may last for a while longer. He’s a prime minister of amiable disposition and appearance. Sure, he may be riding high in the polls today. But that’s the most ephemeral thing in the world. … Predictably, the Liberals are already shuffling backwards into the precincts of ignominy where they so comfortably reside.” Sounds mighty familiar, eh?
My prediction: three years from now, the political space for those advocating bold progressive policies in the federal realm will be much enhanced.
Of course, for those so inclined, more timely opportunities exist at the provincial or municipal level. There will be provincial elections prior to the next federal one. And though it’s too late to throw in for the upcoming New Brunswick municipal elections in May, there are province-wide municipal elections this fall in Ontario, BC, Manitoba and PEI. Climate champions are also much needed at these levels, and opportunities for progress exist. Serving in municipal government is also where many provincial and federal elected leaders cut their political teeth.
Whatever the jurisdiction, it’s vital that there are robust squads of true climate justice champions within the caucuses of multiple parties — people who genuinely get the emergencies we face and will insist on bold action.
Ask good people to run
Over the years, I’ve asked many people to consider running for office. I’m struck by the fact that, very often — and almost always in the case of younger women and women of colour — I am the first person to have asked them, and the ensuing conversation ends up being the first time they ever considered it. Word to the wise — ironically, this is often the marker of the best kind of politicians.
Imagine how many incredible candidates are out there, were it not for the fact they have never been asked.
While there is no disputing that “no means no” with respect to sexual consent, the same adage does not hold true with respect to politics. As Equal Voice notes, “Research shows it takes women and gender-diverse individuals 5 –7 times of being personally asked before they consider running.” In these cases, no can mean “ask again.”
The hardship and the joy
Look, I get that this is a hard ask. I have two politicians in my immediate family. I see first-hand how exhausting it is and all the toxic garbage with which one has to contend.
But I also see the beautiful parts. I’ve witnessed multiple times the magic that unfolds when a genuine climate justice champ steps up to run, as a grateful movement comes out of the woodwork to throw down for their campaigns.
If you lose, that’s okay. You’ve learned how to run a campaign for the next time.
And if and when you win, you get to move from merely criticizing and proposing policies to actually realizing concrete policy wins. Each week offers a mix of both defeats and victories — you get to make a measurable difference.
But one thing is clear. With our world on fire, we need to elect more political firefighters. So, find, recruit and support your local climate justice champion. Send them this article as a way of saying, “I believe in you.” And if you can’t find one, be one.
Contact your local riding association to signal your interest. Start laying the groundwork. Take the leap.