This minority Parliament must get started on the Green New Deal we need
The history of Petro-Canada’s creation in the 1970s offers inspiration for our current political moment
Photo Credit: Spence Mann
During the 2019 election, 350 Canada ran the Our Time campaign, made up of a distributed network of grassroots hubs across the country. While the campaign is now over, some local groups have continued organizing autonomously under the Our Time banner. This website tells the story of everything we accomplished together in 2019. To learn more about 350 Canada’s more recent campaigns visit our website here.
This is Our Time for a Green New Deal
We’re building a mass movement in support of a made-in-Canada Green New Deal. The first step is holding our newly elected leaders to account.
Support the Green New Deal Motion
Who are we?
Our Time is a national campaign led by young people who are championing a vision for a Green New Deal for Canada — an ambitious plan to tackle climate change and inequality.
We’re building people power and political power. During the 2019 election, we knocked on countless doors, mobilized thousands of people to join the historic climate strikes, and built a movement of organizers who are ready to fight tooth and nail for a Green New Deal.
Winning a Green New Deal for Canada will require an unprecedented uprising. That’s why, as local organizing continues, we’re dedicating a lot of energy to strategizing around what’s next. Stay tuned for updates.
Organizing to make #elxn43 the climate election
Youth-led Our Time Hubs made waves across the country and collected 500,000+ signatures to push the CBC to host a climate leaders’ debate. In the end, we made sure that climate was the most discussed topic in the official leaders’ debate.
Voting for Green New Deal Champions
Thousands of volunteers in youth-led Our Time hubs organized to get out the vote for Green New Deal Champions.We helped elect a squad of 8 champions who are committed to fighting the climate crisis and rising inequality.
Check out our full campaign timeline.
#ClimateStrike
Our Time hubs organized post-secondary campus walk-outs for the climate strike on September 27th which brought close to 1 million people out on the streets across Canada.
Moving forward, we’re committed to supporting ongoing climate strikes.
Organizing Post Election
We wasted no time getting to work after the election. On October 28th, 27 youth were arrested for occupying the House of Commons. They brought mandate letters calling on new MPs to govern for a Green New Deal. Moving forward, we are working with young leaders to keep the pressure up.
GREEN NEW DEAL MOTION
On December 13th, Member of Parliament, Peter Julian, announced he submitted a Motion M-1: Green New Deal for Canada.
This is a huge victory for our movement. Young people mobilized in unprecedented numbers during the election to elect Green New Deal Champions like Peter Julian. This is the first motion filed in the 43rd Parliament and it includes all of the Green New Deal pillars that young people called for during the election. M-1 speaks to our movement’s power to shift the conversation on climate action.
Specifically, M-1 calls on the House of Commons to take the position that it is the “duty of the government to create a Green New Deal.”
The motion defines a Green New Deal as a 10 year national mobilization to:
- reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions
- create millions of secure jobs
- invest in sustainable infrastructure and industry
- promote justice and equity for Indigenous peoples and all “frontline and vulnerable communities.”
WHAT’S NEXT:
Motion M-1 lays the foundation for the 43rd Parliament to begin building the bold, ambitious Green New Deal that we’ve been fighting for. But we need to act quickly to make sure that it receives the attention it deserves.
Before MPs can speak to the motion, they need to hear from their constituents. That’s why we need people across Canada to gather petition signatures in support of the motion and deliver them to MP offices across the country. We’ve put together a toolkit that makes it easy to go through all the steps.
Members of parliament who have accepted their mandate letterS:
Blogs:
Earlier today, I was arrested
At 9:30 am on October 28th, 27 young people were arrested today occupying the House of Commons calling on our newly elected MPs to come together, put partisan politics aside, and govern for a Green New Deal. Here’s a personal account from one of them.
About last night
We’re in a critical window right now, where the priorities of our next government are up for negotiation. Let’s speak up.
We’ve built something special.
Before polls closed on Oct. 21, Our Time campaign manager, Amara Possian, sent out one last e-mail with some reflections about the campaign.
These 10 candidates will change politics — let’s get them elected.
Our Time is organizing an inter-generational alliance of voters to turn out to elect these champions and we really need your help in these critical races.
10 of our Green New Deal champions are running in some of the tightest races in the country. Here’s who they are and how you can support them.
Climate and the Leaders’ Debate
Last night climate change was one of the most discussed issues during the English Federal Leaders’ Debate. Between the shouting matches and bickering over who is worse for Canada, and the significant air time wasted on a white nationalist like Maxime Bernier, 21 minutes were devoted to climate change. It came up during conversations about the economy, about leadership, about Indigenous rights, and other debate topics.
Our Time Newsletter 11
It’s E-18, and we’re still buzzing from last Friday’s massive climate strikes. That’s why today’s newsletter is a bit of a special edition. Instead of the usual format, we just wanted to highlight the next steps we’re taking to turn this outpouring of energy into momentum for a made-in-Canada Green New Deal. (Photo Credit: Nhattan Nguyen)
Our Time Newsletter 10
It’s E-26, and big things are happening. Last week, more than 4 million people turned out for the first wave of Global Climate Strikes, and this Friday, millions more will take part in cross-Canada mobilizations during the second wave. Plus, just yesterday, we announced 16 new candidate endorsements, bringing our total number of Green New Deal champions to 29.
Reflections and Next Steps for Our Time’s Endorsements
On September 23rd, Our Time announced our second round of candidate endorsements. Here’s more on our process.
Our Time Newsletter 9
There are 33 days left to election day, and while the campaign is just getting going, Our Time is in full swing. Our message of the week: Millions of people around the world are joining the upcoming global climate strikes. Are our politicians paying attention?