Elbows up for nature: The smart economics of voting to protect our environment

Monday’s election arrives at a particularly uncertain moment in Canadian history, amid the ongoing domestic and international instability that has defined recent days, months and years.

While our economy and sovereignty are currently under attack, eliciting cries of “elbows up” in the face of increasing aggression from the United States, our biodiversity and climate have been threatened for much longer. And the lost lives, ecosystems, property, and financial costs of these dual crises will continue escalating — unless we also keep our elbows up for nature.

The good news is not only do you get to choose what candidates you think will best fight for Canada, you also get to choose who will best fight for Canadian nature.

Nature is this country’s defining characteristic, from the West Coast’s verdant rainforests and the Prairies’ rolling grasslands to the dramatic coastlines of the Maritimes, great white landscapes up North and all the lakes, rivers, forests, mountains and wetlands in between. Nature’s rich diversity of wildlife and native plants are at the heart of our communities and the foundation of our economies.

But natural resources like forests and fisheries are not renewable unless they are managed sustainably. Species currently at risk of extinction will not survive unless, say, southern resident killer whales and barren-ground caribou are protected from increasing industrial pressures such as shipping and mining.

And the ecosystem services provided by intact nature — from storing billions of tonnes of carbon in peatlands, to supporting Canada’s diverse wildlife, supplying clean freshwater, and ensuring food security in remote and northern communities — are incredibly difficult and costly to replace once lost.

Doing nothing to safeguard nature or fight climate change and its impacts doesn’t save money, either. We’re already paying those bills. Last year, the hottest on record after narrowly topping the previous year, also saw insured damage caused by climate-fuelled extreme weather events hit $8.5 billion.

Another 5.3 million hectares of forest across the country were lost to wildfire. Record-breaking rainfalls deluged Toronto and Vancouver. Heat waves cost lives in Montreal. Summer hailstorms hammered Calgary. Thirty-degree highs hit Nunavut. Storm surges and floods submerged the East Coast. And a years-long drought continued its devastating reign across the West.

Protecting and conserving our environment isn’t just about leaving a legacy for future generations — it’s also smart economics, ensuring we can continue to benefit from Canada’s natural bounty.

It’s the type of smart economics that ensures that remote Indigenous communities can build a conservation economy that creates jobs, generates prosperity, sustains culture and improves health and well-being, without the environmental costs that come with unsustainable development of extractive industries.

If a vote for nature sounds appealing to you, know that you are not alone.

A nationwide EKOS Research poll last fall showed 84 per cent of Canadians agree that “the federal government should do more to protect Canada’s forests and wildlife.” It also found two-thirds of those who responded would be less likely to vote for a party with “no commitments to safeguard the country’s nature and wildlife resources” and more likely to vote for one that will “fund new national parks, marine conservation areas, and national urban parks.”

So, before heading to the ballot box, take some time to research your local candidates and review their party platforms. What are their solutions, or lack thereof, for reversing wildlife loss, reducing climate impacts and protecting and restoring the lands and waters that make Canada unique? Visit elections.ca to find info on your local candidates and where/when to vote.

To help, we also sent a survey on nature and climate issues to all five parties, as part of a coalition of Canada’s leading environmental NGOs, and you can read those results right here. 

Then go cast that vote for nature.