“Ask not what the climate is doing to your country, but what your country can do for the climate” – Prime Minister Mark Carney

[Ken Gray]

It was a pleasure to visit the church of my childhood and later years, St. John the Divine in Victoria this past Sunday. I attended in order to co-sign a letter to Canadian Minister Mark Carney asking him to honour his previous commitments (Value(s), p. xv) to create policy which protects the environment and to create opportunities for a transitional economy away from unnecessary dependence on fossil fuels. Recent comments by the PM have raised concerns on his strategy going forward.

Such a visit rekindled memories of the many justice-centred projects that emanated from this congregation over many years, an advocacy which continues on many fronts today. As our national church remains tepid and overly cautious around ecological justice matters it is great to see such excellent leadership from local parishes.

I encourage all Canadian readers to re-shape the following text in line with their own thoughts and to mail to the Prime Minister as soon as possible. Group letters such as the text below are effective. Large numbers of individual letters (snail mail is best, though email can be effective) are even more strategic. The PM will not likely read your letter himself, but en masse, the content and number of reactions will find their way to his desk via those who manage his communications and monitor public response and his popularity. As he is continually pressured to increase fossil fuel production and transmission he needs to hear from us.

As you are able, please do your part.

And thanks to Mary Kennedy and others from St. Johns for your invitation to participate and for your good initiative.

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DRAFT TEXT

To: The Right Honorable Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada
From: Concerned Members of the Church of St. John the Divine, Victoria, BC

Dear Prime Minister,

We, the undersigned, are writing to you to urge your government not to forget its pledge to address the climate crisis in the face of many other issues that we know demand the government’s attention.

In your recent book, Value(s), you place the climate front and center in your preface, recalling the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP26), clearly setting out the path towards meeting the targets set at that conference, and explaining how Canada is well positioned to

• move quickly to a zero-carbon electricity grid and electrify as much of our transportation and industrial processes as possible;
• accelerate our production and adoption of electric vehicles;
• transform the energy efficiency of our homes and offices; and
• channel the same determination of engineers, entrepreneurs and governments that I saw when I was growing up in Alberta to turn hydrogen and carbon capture from concepts into commercial realities. —Value(s), p. xii

We know that, in the recent federal election, the main focus was on the ‘Trump effect’ and consequently, that topic dominated most of the discourse to the detriment of the ‘climate effect.’

We know also that the economic situation in Canada, and, indeed, the world, is different from what it was when you wrote Value(s). Nevertheless, you have demonstrated that you are a person who holds strong values, and that you have the energy, determination, and perseverance to put them into practice. Support for our view comes from distinguished environmentalist Bill McKibbon, Schumann Distinguished Scholar at Middlebury College, who claims “that the rest of the world is going to recognize Carney as the most likely person to mid-wife us through this transition (to clean energy).” (April 29, 2025, podcast)

We care for the earth and all its creatures in the sea, land, and sky; we care for ourselves, our friends, our children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren; we care for our siblings around the world where the results of a rapidly changing climate have wreaked havoc on their way of life, eroded many of their homes and villages, and deprived them of ways of making a living and providing for their families.  

To this end, we respectfully ask that you petition your government to bring back the conversation on climate and steer Canada’s policies in the direction outlined in your book. As you wrote so eloquently, “Ask not what the climate is doing to your country, but what your country can do for the climate.” (Value(s), p. xv).

You have our full support!

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CONTACT INFORMATION

Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2

Email           Media stream  Media@pmo-cpm.gc.ca
                    PM office mark.carney@parl.gc.ca