policy
Seniors' EV Caravan Crosses Canada to Ottawa: 7 Vehicles, 14 Travellers, One Climate Message
Canada's first seniors-led electric vehicle caravan left Victoria on Sept. 8 and converges on Ottawa Sept. 19, as Parliament reconvenes. Here's the route, the numbers and what the Seniors' Climate Witness Caravan is demanding.
Canada's first-ever electric vehicle caravan organized by seniors is crossing the country this month, driving from Victoria to Ottawa in seven vehicles carrying 14 travellers to press federal politicians for faster climate action. The Seniors' Climate Witness Caravan launched in Victoria on Tuesday, Sept. 8, and east- and west-coast convoys are scheduled to converge in Ottawa on Sept. 19 — two days before Parliament reconvenes on Sept. 21.
What the caravan wants
The campaign, which began with a small group of Victoria organizers and has grown into a national effort, is lobbying the federal government to stop funding fossil fuel projects and to invest in meeting Canada's climate targets. The caravan is making stops in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario, picking up supporters from communities along the way.
"We're travelling across Canada in the first-ever seniors' climate caravan because our generation has a responsibility to leave our children and grandchildren a safer world — not more pipelines and a hotter planet," Michael Polanyi of Seniors' Climate Witness said in the campaign's launch materials.
Why seniors are the messengers
Organizers argue their generation carries a specific obligation on climate, and local groups are amplifying that message at each stop. The caravan held a public rally in Kamloops on Sept. 10 at Valleyview Centennial Park, and Shuswap climate groups hosted a Salmon Arm rally in support of the cross-Canada trek.
"People in B.C. have suffered from another devastating wildfire season, with more than 500 homes and structures lost, large swaths of forest burned, widespread damage to BC Hydro infrastructure and significant negative health impacts from wildfire smoke," Patricia Spencer of Kamloops Seniors for Climate Action said in support of the caravan.
What happens in Ottawa
After the Sept. 19 convergence, participants plan a week of what organizers call "public witness and nonviolent action" as Parliament opens. The caravan's demand list is focused on federal finance decisions: end public funding for fossil fuel expansion and redirect investment toward Canada's emissions targets.
For EV watchers, the caravan is also a rolling demonstration of the technology's road-trip readiness — seven electric vehicles crossing six provinces, charging on the public network along the Trans-Canada corridor, driven largely by retirees.
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