Climate, affordability, and sovereignty dominate federal election discussion at Saanich Fairgrounds
Just over a week away from the federal election, residents of Saanich-Gulf Islands gathered at the Saanich Fairgrounds for a public all-candidates forum on Saturday.
Nearly 200 people filled the room to hear directly from three of the riding’s candidates: Elizabeth May of the Green Party, Colin Plant of the NDP, and David Beckham of the Liberal Party. Conservative candidate Cathie Ounsted did not attend, despite an invitation from event organizer Ian Cameron, who has been hosting public forums in the riding since 2000.
“This is an opportunity for our community to stay involved, and a chance to provide their feedback and questioning on what they can expect from their representatives,” Cameron said.
The forum covered a broad range of issues, including housing, health care, food security, the climate crisis, and national defence.
On the topic of climate, May said any serious solution must start with a hard deadline for phasing out fossil fuels.
“What we need to do is pick the date at which we’re going to go off fossil fuels altogether,” May said. “We need to make [our grid] 100% renewable and create a grid that works east-west, and north-south. We can become a post-carbon economy, but we’re gonna have to move fast because the science is telling us we’re standing on the very edge of too late.”
Beckham, whose professional background is in renewable energy, said the transition is not only possible – it’s necessary.
“I’ve spent the last 20 years at the intersection of industry and of environment and particularly renewable energy,” Beckham said. “The technology is settled. The opportunity is there. The infrastructure is there. There is absolutely no reason why we cannot have rapid deployment if we have the will. And Mark Carney has made it very clear that he has the will – he intends to turn Canada into a renewable energy superpower.”
Plant emphasized urgency and systemic change.
“Slow, gentle transitions are in the past,” Plant said. “We missed our chance. With every year that we pretend we’ve got solutions like carbon capture and storage and other nonsense that perpetuates the fossil fuel business, we lose time. We rob our own kids in plain sight.”
Housing and affordability were also central topics, with each candidate outlining their party’s strategy.
Beckham highlighted Liberal plans to increase home construction to 500,000 homes annually, prioritize Canadian materials and labour, and address a shortage in trades training. He also called for health care restructuring and advancing reconciliation.
Plant pointed to regaining Canada’s sovereignty, health care reform, and a national housing plan that would build homes on public land.
“We have committed to build million homes on public land for the public,” Plant said. He also pushed for stronger regional and municipal collaboration, referencing work he’s done locally.
May framed their plans towards interconnected crises, environmental focus, sustainability, and respect for diversity.
“We don’t have the luxury of tackling individual crises one by one,” May said. “We must act on the climate crisis while we still have a chance, ensure Canada is safe and stable, and build a circular economy that embraces Indigenous culture.”
Food security and agricultural land use also drew extensive conversation.
Beckham, who maintained a long-time family farm in Manitoba, spoke about his long-standing commitment to agricultural policy and protections.
“This is something that the Americans have been trying for years to break down and take away from us,” Beckham said. “It gives them freedom to dump their products in our market. This is something we need to fight against.”
May stressed the importance of supporting ecological farming practices.
“Farmers should get paid for zero-till agriculture,” she said. “They should get paid for ecological processes they use on their own farms that help protect biodiversity and sequester carbon. Farmers have to be able to make a living farming or we won’t have food.”
Plant called for stronger commitments from governments to support local farmers, including using school programs to source food from local producers.
“We can double down and commit to ensuring that farmers are supported when they have bad seasons,” he said. “We can protect farmland like we do in Saanich by having containment boundaries where we don’t allow development.”
The candidates showed rare unanimity on at least one issue: banning single-use plastics.
When Cameron asked for their views, May, Plant, and Beckham all responded with a thumbs-up.
“Microplastics are seeping their way into our water and bodies,” said Beckham. “If being woke means being against single-use plastics, then I must be woke.”
Plant added, “I can’t believe we are having this conversation in 2025. Single-use plastics have no place in our society.”
One of the final topics of the afternoon dealt with national defence and a hypothetical scenario in which the United States, under a future Donald Trump administration, attempted to impose military or economic pressure on Canada.
Green Party candidate Elizabeth May dismissed the idea of an invasion as “impossible,” but underscored the importance of protecting Canadian sovereignty.
“He cannot break us by economic force if we protect ourselves through economic sovereignty,” she said. “Greens are proposing that we create strategic reserves of our natural resources so we’re not dependent on shipping them to the U.S. He can’t break us, and he’s not gonna invade us militarily. That would be even too much for the insanity of King Donald the First.”
May also emphasized Canada’s role as a safe haven. “To kids south of the border, to trans kids, to people of colour, to people who are afraid – we can protect you here,” she said.
NDP candidate Colin Plant took a pragmatic approach, focusing on economic resilience and internal development.
“Our military is not equipped to defend against a U.S. invasion, but I’d love to believe that if that came to be, we would have support from our neighbours from around the world,” he said. “We need to invest more in our inside-of-Canada trade and industrial activity and find new partners to do business with who are not ruled by someone who is acting like a fascist.”
Plant said Canada is already in a trade war and described retaliatory tariffs as necessary.
“This is economic war – we will never give in,” he said. “Any tariff that we implement in return goes to working people to support an enhanced EI program.”
Beckham also rejected the idea of a military threat, but called the economic pressure a serious and calculated attack.
“This trade war and these tariffs are intended to destabilize our economy, to deflate our currency, and to provide [the U.S.] with a revenue stream,” he said. “A cold war against Canada would bankrupt them. They don’t want that. But they do want to turn our country into a wasteland of inflation.”
He urged Canadians to respond by investing in domestic industry, and holding the line.
“Stand strong, don’t give in,” Beckham said. “Do business with each other.”
Candidates will meet one final time ahead of the election at a forum hosted by the North Saanich Residents Association on April 23 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Saanich Peninsula Presbyterian Church.
The federal election is set for April 28.
