Also organizing 5 mass street art murals across the country

CANADA – September 23, 2019 –  After over 4 million youth, students and allies went on strike last friday around the world, hundreds of thousands of people will take to the streets this coming Friday in at least 86 cities across Canada to demand immediate action on the growing climate emergency.

Greenpeace Canada joins a growing international list of organizations and businesses who are officially participating in the climate strikes by closing its offices in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver on September 27th. 

In addition, Greenpeace Canada will be supporting five mass, collectively painted street murals in Halifax, Toronto, Ottawa, Québec and Victoria. The art murals will be designed and executed in key locations (to be unveiled later) by volunteers and activists from all horizons. Artivism is a portmanteau word combining art and activism. It enables all those wanting to take action on climate to fight climate despair and voice their message in shape and colour at a larger scale.

“These youth are an inspiration to us all. Greenpeace is happy to be standing with them. Today’s generation of youth are facing an extinction crisis they had no part in creating. They are displaying the conviction and leadership our politicians lack, leading the way through their strikes and inspiring others to believe in a better world. The murals being created are another expression of this rallying cry. The time for action is now. We can change the system from the ground up and build a better world for all of us,” explained Mike Hudema, Climate & Energy campaigner with Greenpeace Canada.

Organisations and businesses can support the climate strike by sharing content on their social media pages, by encouraging their local shops and offices to shut down for the day or granting their employees a few hours to strike. Employees can also encourage their own organisation or employer to vote on a strike mandate for the 27th.

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More on parallel activities in each city:

In Montreal, Greenpeace is part of the coalition organizing the Climate Strike march. The march in Montreal is expected to be the largest in Canada, with up to 300,000 people expected and Greta Thunberg joining the strikers. In Montreal alone, 10 local union groups, the Montreal School Board and 400 community associations have voted to be on strike. The union centrals will be supporting the march logistically. They have launched a campaign called ‘Debout pour la planète’ as well to encourage workers to participate.

In Toronto,  the Strike for Climate Justice is youth led and coordinated by the Fridays For Future Toronto group, and is supported by many unions and associations including the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, the Toronto District School Board and a wide range of  social, arts, and environmental groups. The event is hosting live music, family friendly activities and intersectional speakers from various groups and organizations. The march will start and end at Queen’s Park. In The Week For Future, leading up to the 27th Toronto organizers are hosting a range of daily events and actions to grow the movement for Climate Justice. 

In Vancouver, Greenpeace is part of a coalition supporting the organizers of the week of climate action activities leading up to the strike on the 27th. Vancouver is expecting 10,000 people to join the strike on the 27th with many events leading up to it and planned afterwards. 

For more information, please contact:

Loujain Kurdi, Communications Officer, Climate & Energy Campaign, [email protected], 514-577-6657