Over the past six weeks, communities across British Columbia turned out in force to put their candidates for provincial office on the spot about their stance on fracking and LNG. Set against the backdrop of climate-fueled megastorms like the destructive storms Helene and Milton, and following the catastrophic fire that destroyed Jasper, B.C., voters made it clear: strong climate action must take centre stage this election.

From Vernon to Whistler, Nanaimo to Sechelt, and dozens of places across the Lower Mainland and Greater Victoria, Frack Free BC volunteers mounted a non-partisan effort to insert fracking and LNG into the election conversation. We spoke to candidates in dozens of ridings to make sure that whoever wins, they’ll be arriving in Victoria with an ambitious mandate for stronger action to end fracking.

The Frack Free BC community kicked off the first week of the election by dropping in to campaign offices across all parties. We demanded to know where our candidates stood by asking them: Do you support the expansion of the fossil fuel industry when fracking and LNG is already fuelling climate disasters all over the province?

Then, we kept up the pressure for the rest of the election campaign. Frack Free BC activists took different approaches all over the province to bring this conversation to their would-be representatives. We showed up en masse to an all-candidates’ debate (where one candidate responded, “woah, lots of folks here really care about climate change!”) 

We caught candidates at coffee shops and farmers markets. We crashed campaign office opening parties and confronted candidates as they arrived to meet their supporters. We scheduled meetings to dig into the policies behind the headlines. We even confronted David Eby while he was on camera with a CTV reporter.

Some common threads were catching candidates out in public, where the element of surprise forced them to go beyond their scripted talking points – a level of access you just don’t get at any other time – and memorable personal interactions (one candidate told a volunteer that she would carry her personal story with her into the Legislature). Repetition also made a big impact! In some places we bird-dogged candidates half a dozen times over the election campaign.

The surround-sound effort mounted in some places did not go unnoticed, with campaign staffers saying they were ‘seeing Frack Free BC everywhere!’

Some candidates were receptive to our message…others less so. Green candidates committed to phasing out fracking and stopping new pipelines. NDP candidates tended to talk about their Clean BC climate plan and net zero LNG terminals. Conservative candidates were unabashedly in favour of fracked gas expansion – oh, and plastic straws.

For example, we cornered John Rustad, head of the Conservative Party of B.C. at one of his candidate’s offices. Rustad responded to our questions by falsely equating climate and weather while repeating inaccurate narratives about B.C.’s energy needs.

It’s disappointing that in 2024 we’re still having conversations around the basic science of climate change instead of real policy discussions about how to safeguard the planet for future generations and keep more people safe. 

This means that it is incumbent upon all of us to call out false solutions when we see them in campaign plans, or hear them in speeches and fundraisers. 

To hammer that message home, members of the Frack Free BC Vernon chapter set up some can't-miss signs to greet attendees to a party fundraiser. They made their point clear: in the middle of a cost of living crisis, we should care how much public money the oil and gas industry is receiving in subsidies – even while raking in record-breaking profits. 

Frack Free BC activists continued to demand answers by confronting all of the party leaders outside of the single televised leader’s debate in Vancouver. 

With banners, megaphones and chants, we pushed a loud message into the leaders’ big moment: “Stop PRGT”. The latest fracked gas pipeline – the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission line – is proposed to be built through several Indigenous territories, and many communities haven’t given their consent. The incoming government will have to decide the fate of PRGT, and we demanded to know where candidates stand on such a consequential project. 

Thanks to the efforts of the Frack Free BC community, we pushed candidates to confront the pressing questions they’ll face if they end up in office – from the future of PRGT to the expansion of the fossil fuel industry in B.C. By inserting ourselves into public events and media moments, we made sure this issue couldn’t be ignored, and by showing up over and over, we know our shared concerns made their way to party top brass. Whatever happens on election night, we made our demands loud and clear to all candidates that we’ll continue to push whoever ends up in office to be bolder, do more and move faster to tackle B.C.’s biggest climate problem.

Together, we’re truly unstoppable. Thank you to the Frack Free BC community for coming out in force this election season! Let’s continue to shift B.C. toward a safe and sustainable energy future for all.

Authorized by Stand Environmental Society, a registered sponsor under the Election Act, 604 331 6201