The Council of Canadians is a Canadian non-profit organization that advocates for clean water,

fair trade Fair trade is an arrangement designed to help producers in developing countries achieve sustainable and equitable trade relationships. The fair trade movement combines the payment of higher prices to exporters with improved social and envir ...

green energy Energy is sustainable if it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". Most definitions of sustainable energy include considerations of environmental aspects such as greenh ...

, public health care, and a vibrant democracy. The organization is headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario with regional offices in Halifax,

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city an ...

and

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

and a network of local chapters across the country. While primarily focused on national issues, the Council of Canadians also does international work through its Blue Planet Project, which focuses on the implementation of the human

right to water The human right to water and sanitation (HRWS) is a principle stating that clean drinking water and sanitation are a universal human right because of their high importance in sustaining every person's life. It was recognized as a human rig ...

and sanitation.

History

The Council of Canadians was founded in 1985 in the lead up to the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement and

North American Free Trade Agreement The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA ; es, Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte, TLCAN; french: Accord de libre-échange nord-américain, ALÉNA) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that crea ...

. The Council criticized these and other international free trade agreements on civic nationalist and

protectionist Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...

grounds, asserting that decision-making power about Canadian

economic An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with th ...

cultural Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.T ...

, and

environmental A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scal ...

policy should remain in Canada. The Council later expanded its focus to include campaigns on health care, water, public pensions, corporate influence, and energy. The Council was created by

Mel Hurtig Mel Hurtig (1932–2016) was a Canadian publisher, author, political activist, and political candidate. He was president of the Edmonton Art Gallery. He described himself as a Canadian nationalist, while he also wrote several books critical of ...

. The founding members included

Maude Barlow Maude Victoria Barlow (born May 24, 1947) is a Canadian author and activist. She is a founding member of the Council of Canadians, a citizens' advocacy organization with members and chapters across Canada. She is also the co-founder of the Blue ...

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, ...

David Suzuki David Takayoshi Suzuki (born March 24, 1936) is a Canadian academic, science broadcaster, and environmental activist. Suzuki earned a PhD in zoology from the University of Chicago in 1961, and was a professor in the genetics department at the ...

Farley Mowat Farley McGill Mowat, (May 12, 1921 – May 6, 2014) was a Canadian writer and environmentalist. His works were translated into 52 languages, and he sold more than 17 million books. He achieved fame with the publication of his books on the Can ...

Pierre Berton Pierre Francis de Marigny Berton, CC, O.Ont. (July 12, 1920 – November 30, 2004) was a Canadian writer, journalist and broadcaster. Berton wrote 50 best-selling books, mainly about Canadiana, Canadian history and popular culture. He also wr ...

Margaret Laurence Jean Margaret Laurence (née Wemyss; July 18, 1926 – January 5, 1987) was a Canadian novelist and short story writer, and is one of the major figures in Canadian literature. She was also a founder of the Writers' Trust of Canada, a non-pr ...

, several politicians and other prominent Canadians. In 2012, $202,000 was transferred from the Council of Canadians to the Maude Barlow Social Justice Fund Account. The Council publishes a magazine called ''Canadian Perspectives'', which is published twice a year.

Support

For the 2011-2012 fiscal year the Council received 92 percent of its funding from members and supporters who gave an average of $54.59. An additional seven percent of the annual budget came from foundation grants. The Council of Canadians receives no money from governments or corporations, however it makes no such claims with regards to funding it receives from organizations such as labour unions or environmental activist groups.

Activity

Due to its overt political activities, the Council of Canadians does not qualify as a registered charity in Canada. In 2011, the Council of Canadians backed a lawsuit brought by a group of voters against the

Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (french: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Co ...

over the

2011 Canadian federal election voter suppression scandal The 2011 Canadian federal election voter suppression scandal (also known as the Robocall scandal, Robogate, or RoboCon) is a political scandal stemming from events during the 2011 Canadian federal election. It involved robocalls and real-person ...

. Ultimately the voters lost the lawsuit and decided not to appeal the decision to a higher court. In September 2016 the organization launched a boycott of

Nestlé Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Switzerland, Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other me ...

in response to the company outbidding a small town aiming to

secure Secure may refer to: * Security, being protected against danger or loss(es) ** Physical security, security measures that are designed to deny unauthorized access to facilities, equipment, and resources **Information security, defending information ...

a long-term water supply through a local well, stressing the need for bottled water industry reform as the country battles drought and depletion of ground water reserves. The Council of Canadians will frequently advocate on behalf of unions, such as the

British Columbia Teachers' Federation The British Columbia Teachers' Federation (BCTF) is the labour union that represents all public school teachers in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It was established as an organization in 1917. Governance structure As of 2018, the BCT ...

, involved in labour disputes.

Civil disobedience

On November 20, 2014 Brigette DePape, a Vancouver-based organizer with the Council of Canadians, was arrested with over 14 others by the RCMP at Burnaby Mountain while protesting against Texas-based

Kinder Morgan Kinder Morgan, Inc. is one of the largest energy infrastructure companies in North America. The company specializes in owning and controlling oil and gas pipelines and terminals. Kinder Morgan owns an interest in or operates approximately ...

over the company's Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project. The protestors were arrested for "civil contempt” of a court order permitting the company's pipeline survey work. All charges were subsequently dismissed.

References

External links

Council of Canadians official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Council of Canadians Political and economic think tanks based in Canada Government watchdog groups in Canada Organizations based in Ottawa Protectionism Organizations established in 1985 Canadian nationalism 1985 establishments in Canada