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Vire au vert

Get involved in questioning and influencing candidates in municipal elections

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What's at stake?

On November 2, more than 1,100 municipalities in Quebec will hold elections to choose their next municipal council.

Housing crisis, flood adaptation, public transit improvements: municipalities are at the forefront of finding solutions to these issues. They are the first line of defense when crises arise, whether social, environmental, or economic.

However, they have the opportunity to implement concrete measures to prevent these crises, improve the quality of their citizens' life, and make decisions that will serve their communities and help develop healthy and resilient living environments.

Greening and developing neighborhoods, access to healthy food and local services, tap water quality, bike paths: your city council's decisions have a major impact on your daily life, and voting is the best way to make your priorities heard.

We have already proven that when we mobilize, things change. Municipal elections are the perfect opportunity to bring your concerns to the attention of candidates, and we can help you do just that.

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Our work

Since 2018, the Vire au vert citizen mobilization initiative has been bringing environmental issues to the forefront during Quebec election campaigns. Powered by environmental organizations and citizens, it seeks to encourage political parties and candidates to make ambitious commitments with regards to the environment.

24 of Quebec’s most influential environmental and citizen groups have developed Vire au Vert’s 48 environmental recommendations, which we encourage the political parties to include in their electoral programs, and to discuss during the upcoming election campaign.

Alongside our allies, Équiterre provides the tools and mobilizes citizens to pressure our governments to do just that.

81%

of Quebecers are worried about climate impacts on their health and on public health, on their personal finances and on public finances.

Source: Sondage Léger, May 2022.

Project history

2025

November - Municipal elections

Municipalities are on the front lines when crises arise, whether social, environmental, or economic.

Environmental issues cannot be ignored in the decision-making process of elected officials.

April - Federal Elections

Quebec Environmental Consensus

2,087 people participated in our mobilization campaign to ask federal political parties to commit to respecting the Quebec Environmental Consensus.

On the eve of the federal election, four of the five main political parties—the Bloc Québécois, the New Democratic Party (NDP), the Liberal Party (LPC), and the Green Party—committed to respecting the Quebec Consensus on the Environment in the development of their respective political platforms.

2022

Provincial elections

More than 17,000 Quebecers called for a leaders' debate exclusively on the environment!

Thanks to the efforts of Équiterre and the Vire au vert initiative, the environment has taken on an unprecedented role in the election campaign:

  • 3 chefs committed to putting the environment at the heart of all their decisions at our “green carpet” event

  • The environmental theme opened each of the Radio-Canada and TVA debates, and garnered significant airtime: 18 minutes at TVA and 22 minutes at Radio-Canada, compared to zero and 16 minutes respectively four years earlier.

  • 125 candidates presented their vision of the climate and biodiversity crises to voters during the Vire au vert interviews and debates.

2021

November

On November 7, 2021, a breath of fresh air blew through Quebec! Many new mayors and city councilors who had made commitments to the environment were elected across the province. The environment, women and youth were the big winners in this municipal election. Talking about the environment is clearly no longer a risk: it's a win.

The environmental movement is reaching our city halls. And it's thanks to the thousands of citizens who mobilized and voted with the environment in mind and to the work of environmental organizations like Vire au vert! Municipalities play a crucial role in the implementation of the ecological transition.

2018

September

In 2018, Vire au vert helped put the environment at the heart of the provincial election campaign in Quebec.

Our ultimate goal: that political parties make ambitious commitments with regards to the environment. We identified 23 environmental priorities that we wanted to see included in the electoral platforms of each of the political parties in Quebec. We also mobilized, equipped and supported citizens to express their environmental concerns to political parties and their candidates, their entourage and the public.

Reference documents

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Project team

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