Nanaimo candidates on how the city can cut emissions

Leading up to the 2026 municipal election in Nanaimo, The Discourse surveyed readers to learn what they wanted to know from candidates running for council and mayor.

The top issues that readers said are on their mind this election season are: homelessness and social supports, environment, healthcare and local infrastructure.

Based on your feedback, we sent five reader questions to Nanaimo city council and mayoral candidates about the top issues you identified. Many readers also wanted to know more about candidate track records and values, not just talking points, with some folks submitting questions to help indicate how much candidates actually know about their municipal roles and responsibilities.

Responses are listed with mayoral candidates first, followed by council candidates, each in alphabetical order by last name, and have been lightly edited for length, clarity and fact-checking.

Q. What two actions within the city’s actual jurisdiction would you prioritize over the next four years to reduce emissions, and how would you judge whether they were working?

Brunie Brunie (Mayor)

I have already started a petition to remove CARS from the library to TERMINAL ST. creating a people friendly open air square, increasing the downtown business by 100 percent.  Scooter lanes from the ferry to downtown. There is 2 lanes north 2 lanes south and one lane for PARKED CARS that can become GREEN WHEEL TRAVEL the definition of roads is to transfer people and goods NOT PARK CARS.

Anne Marie Dryden (Mayor)

Stop all the non-essential road construction.  Emissions are going up instead of down largely due to the OCP and doughnut economy ideology of current administration.

Leonard Krog (Mayor), incumbent

The City’s actual jurisdiction includes the supply and maintenance of roads, sidewalks, provision of water and wastewater treatment, collection of garbage, recycling and compostables, provision of recreational and park facilities, fire and police protection.

We, together with the RDN, are in the vanguard of communities that are in the lead in reducing “emissions” from those activities for which we are responsible.

Sarah Lovegrove (Mayor)

The City of Nanaimo has set important standards and goals for environmental protection, sustainability, and reduction in emissions that we need to remain committed to, including centring decision-making in alignment with the already-adopted Doughnut Economics Framework while regularly assessing ongoing efforts and impacts through evidence-informed, scientific data collection and measurable outcomes. I would prioritize reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through commitment to enhancing access to green and active transportation, as well as investment in green construction and industry that ensures a sustainable future. Our City can also enhance consultation with neighbourhoods and support for local grassroots organizations doing the work to sustain, restore, and protect ecosystems that balance environmental protection with ongoing need for development.

Jeff Annesley

Jeff Annesley did not respond by the deadline.

Read his slate’s platform on its website.

Sheryl Armstrong, incumbent 

I think we could look at hybrid vehicles for the city.  We also need to manage how growth is occurring.  We could judge this through the Community Energy and Emissions Inventory.

Sandy Bartlett

Sandy Bartlett did not respond by the deadline.

Read his slate’s platform on its website.

Ken Bennett

Building up not out, maintaining as much of our natural green space as possible. Looking into ensuring (the) city green plan is working such as fleet vehicles are going electric would be ideal but hybrid is also option for cost benefits. As long as the city is doing its part and promoting the idea of adding green space where we can in new developments it’s a win win.

Marnie Boers

First, I would prioritize increasing regular transit use by exploring ways to expand free ridership and making the bus a more cost-effective option for more community members. I would also review how HandyDART is used and where service could improve to better support accessible transportation, measuring success through increased ridership and reduced transportation related emissions. Second, I would continue supporting low-cost financing options that make it easier for residents to upgrade their homes with things like heat pumps and solar panels. 

Jackie Bolen

I would like to convert all the gas-fueled cars and buses in the city fleet to electric. I would also like to make heat pumps mandatory in all new builds, whether city or privately-owned (residential, commercial, industrial) and convert the older city buildings to them as well. In BC, about 98% of our energy comes from renewable sources, so we need to move towards this, away from fossil fuels.

Mark Chandler

Nanaimo and region are growing at a faster than normal pace.  In the role of council, we would look to other larger cities to find successful pathways to what is working elsewhere.  This is the fastest way to avoid expensive drawn out studies, consultants and delays. There would be Nanaimo specific plans also, but using a successful framework from other regions is a great starting point. 

Paul Chapman

I support lowering speed limits in our neighbourhoods to 30 km/h backed up with traffic calming infrastructure where needed. This will make side streets lacking sidewalks and other active transportation infrastructure safer for walkers and bikers making their way to active transportation routes and helping to reduce our reliance on car commuting for work and services. Increasing the frequency of public transit pick-up and drop-off will also allow folks to choose car free commuting. 

Malcolm Cooke

Malcolm Cooke did not respond by the deadline.

“Road improvements and underground infrastructure improvements in theory is a smart idea. But the road redesigns that have been done and are proposed increase the carbon footprint of our city.” (NanaimoNewsNOW Know Your Vote candidate survey, Oct. 1)

Read his slate’s platform on its website.

Andréa Coutu

The climate emergency is already here and Nanaimo needs to bring managerial decisions into tackling the biggest problems under our control: our biggest emissions sources are transportation and buildings and where we put housing, jobs, transit and services affects emissions for decades. I am an MBA with years in economic development and community work and my first priority covers both a change and results — I want a public climate performance scorecard, instead of just announcing programs that become pretty pictures on social media and the paper. Residents need to see whether we are actually getting results and value for money.

Shane Crawley

Shane Crawley did not respond by the deadline.

See their candidate listing on CivicInfo BC.

Ryan Djakovic

I would prioritize bringing light rail transit to Nanaimo and our neighbouring communities. I also encourage investing in clean‑energy infrastructure such as pumped‑hydro storage to support solar adoption. These actions directly lower emissions by shifting transportation habits and increasing renewable energy use. 

Hilary Eastmure, incumbent

With the vast majority of emissions throughout Nanaimo coming from transportation, the best thing we can do is enhance our transit system, build housing closer to amenities and services, and make it easier, safer, and more appealing to walk or cycle where we need to go to help reduce our reliance on cars. Per capita emissions are measured already, and have dropped since the adoption of City Plan in 2022, but population growth is increasing and therefore leading to overall increased emissions city-wide, so success needs to be measured in increased transit ridership and the number of people choosing active transportation over single-occupancy vehicle use. We must also build more energy efficient City facilities and upgrade old ones, like the recent HVAC upgrades at the Nanaimo Aquatic Centre which was formerly the City of Nanaimo’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for approximately 32% of the natural gas used across City facilities.

Joe Figel

Joe Figel did not respond by the deadline.

Read his slate’s platform on its website.

Ben Geselbracht, incumbent 

Per capita emissions have dropped from 5.2 to 4.7 tons since our City Plan was adopted, but population growth keeps total emissions rising, and 70% come from transportation and most of the rest from heating buildings with fossil fuels. My two priorities are building densified transit oriented urban centers so daily needs are close by and more daily trips can be made by walking, rolling or transit, and keeping new buildings fossil fuel free while speeding up retrofits of older ones. I will judge these actions by per capita and total emissions, transit ridership, walking and cycling trips, and the number of buildings off fossil fuels, reported publicly each year.

Bryan Gordon

Bryan Gordon did not respond by the deadline.

Read his slate’s platform on its website.

Anita Greer

Anita Greer did not respond by the deadline.

See her Facebook page.

Patrick Gunville

I would focus on incentives rather than adding new costs or regulations: create incentives for developments that voluntarily exceed existing energy-efficiency standards, potentially through additional density or faster approvals, and make it easier to build housing and employment space where existing infrastructure can support greater density. Environmental policy has to make economic sense if we expect the private sector to actually deliver it. I would measure success by how many projects are actually proposed, approved and built, and by their measurable energy and emissions performance.

Derek Hanna

Derek Hanna did not respond by the deadline.

Read their slate’s platform on its website.

Richard Harlow

Transportation is 60 per cent of Nanaimo’s emissions and the community total was 533,884 tonnes last year, higher than in 2015, . The two levers a council holds are the streets and the buildings: one, the bus stop standard and a connected bike network built stop by stop, because the stop and its shelter, the sidewalk that reaches it, the crossing and a lane a mobility scooter can also use are city work, eight of the nineteen votes that set bus routes and fares at the RDN board belong to Nanaimo councillors, and safer streets are accessible streets, so  street people can cross safely is a street people will take the bus on; two, the Zero Carbon Step Code this City brought in ahead of the province, applied to the City’s own buildings first. I’d judge both on numbers the City already publishes: the transportation line and the City’s own corporate line on the City Plan monitoring page have to fall every year of the term, the step each new building was permitted at gets counted in public every year, and if the lines do not fall, I will say so, because a council that adopts a target and never checks the number has adopted a press release.

Editor’s Note: Nanaimo appoints eight of the RDN board’s 19 directors, but because some votes are weighted by population, the city holds roughly three-quarters of the votes that set bus routes and fares.

Erin Hemmens, incumbent

I would continue implementing the RDN Transit Redevelopment Strategy, which I helped develop through the Transit Select Committee, increasing service and improving connections so transit is a practical choice for more trips, with ridership providing a clear measure of whether it is working. My second priority would be completing the City Plan’s minimum active transportation grid, measured by completion of the network, its use and whether more trips are being made by walking and cycling. I’m less interested in announcing another climate target than in measuring whether the policies we have already adopted are moving our emissions in the right direction — and changing course if they aren’t.

Steven Johns

More transit and friendlier sidewalks and pedestrian crossings to make life easier for people that like accessibility issues.

Cameron Leckenby

As your Nanaimo City Councillor, I will prioritize building sustainable infrastructure, and retrofitting buildings to use more efficient technologies, such as heat-retaining windows, heat pumps, and water-saving toilets. I will also work to expand public transit with more frequent bus routes and better feeder routes, because everyone in Nanaimo, including workers, students, newcomers and seniors, deserve safe and reliable public transit. I will measure the success of my proposed sustainable and retrofitted buildings, as well as the expanded public transit system, by working with City of Nanaimo and Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) staff to track the amount of energy and water saved in our community’s sustainable buildings, and the additional usage of public transit.

Max MacKay

Max MacKay did not respond by the deadline.

Read their platform on their campaign website.

Paul Manly, incumbent 

The City of Nanaimo has been actively working to reduce the emissions of the infrastructure that the City owns and controls including replacing aging HVAC systems with energy efficient systems, such as the recent replacement at the Nanaimo Aquatic Centre which was the largest source of emissions of any city facility. An increasing amount of the electricity we consume on Vancouver Island is produced by gas fired energy and we could be replacing that dirty energy with community generation projects such as solar panels on city facilities and by using abandoned coal mines for geo-thermal energy the same way VIU has done. As our current vehicle fleet ages we should replace it with electric vehicles and use clean energy production to charge the vehicles.

Bryant Marshall

First, I would accelerate energy efficiency and electrification of City-owned buildings, facilities and vehicles, while exploring community-owned renewable energy and micro-grid opportunities. Second, I would support practical City programs and partnerships that make residential solar panels and small-scale wind energy more accessible to homeowners, including streamlined permitting and information on available incentives. I would judge success through measurable reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions and energy use, the number of homes adopting renewable energy, and annual public reporting on the results.

Bill McKay

I would continue promoting active transportation—including transit, cycling, and walking—while working with the provincial and federal governments to secure funding for safer routes. I would also support complete communities where residents can access groceries, pharmacies, medical services, etc. without relying on a vehicle.

Andrew Merilees

I would replace the City fleet of vehicles with electric when they reach the end of their lifespan wherever feasible. I would upgrade any outdated city owned infrastructure with energy efficient windows, lighting, insulation and heating sources. This could be measured against the annual energy audits Nanaimo is required to submit to the Province.

Matthew Miller

Matthew Miller did not respond by the deadline.

“…especially public transportation, active transportation and so that we can reduce emissions and make our city safer for everyone who wants to use our streets, sidewalks, and parks.” (CHLY 101.7FM, Sept. 24)

“A community bus model uses smaller vehicles and shorter loops to bring basic service into those neighbourhoods… improve access for residents while reducing cost and emissions.” (Matthew Miller campaign website)

Read their platform on their campaign website.

Zaki Mohammed

Zaki Mohammed did not respond by the deadline.

Read their platform on their campaign website.

Rod Moreno

The vehicles that pollute the most are in my industry, deliveries, we stop and go all day for up to 250 km a day. We spend between $1,400 to over 2k a month in fuel. It’s in our interest as contractors to buy EVs but there are simply not near enough EV chargers in town nor a decent choice of EV trucks/vans. We need to measure the emissions saved per delivery company and finish the multi use trail network in the city.

Janice Perrino, incumbent

As part of our City Plan (OCP) we do this on a daily basis. Just to give you an example, we have recently put in a new HVAC system at our Nanaimo Aquatic Centre. It reduces emissions to the extent that we will meet our goals by 2030, as promised.

Rob Phelan

Rob Phelan did not respond by the deadline.

See their candidate listing on CivicInfo BC.

Frank Pluta

Frank Pluta did not respond by the deadline.

Read his slate’s platform on its website.

Austin Seng

In order to reduce emissions, I would prioritize public transit initiatives that increase ridership and reduce single vehicle use, while also promoting sustainable practices in how we plan and zone future developments and create pedestrian focused community hubs.

We can closely monitor and measure our progress through traffic sensors, data collection in partnership with BC Transit, and incentives for net-zero building projects.

By using reliable data to measure outcomes, we can ensure that our efforts are effective and continue moving Nanaimo toward a more sustainable future.

Holden Southward

Reducing emissions overall would be through encouraging mass local agriculture and local production of cloths and shoes so that less fuel is needed to transport goods from across the globe as emissions are much more than something local. In my many letters to the editor and city hall delegations I say becoming much more self-reliant, self-owned and self-determined is better all way around. World trade was to add a spice to life but not to dominate it and we need to learn to break free from its slavery.

Ian Thorpe, incumbent

Ian Thorpe did not respond by the deadline.

Read their platform on their campaign website.

Paul Van Ryssel

Paul Van Ryssel declined to answer the questionnaire.

Read their platform on their campaign website.

Angela Hope Waldick

I would prioritize transportation and the energy efficiency of City owned buildings and infrastructure because both are areas where municipal decisions can directly make a difference. For transportation, I would measure things like transit use, walking and cycling volumes, transportation emissions and whether we are successfully connecting high use areas, while for buildings I would track energy consumption, greenhouse gas reductions and operating cost savings. If a program isn’t producing measurable results for the money being spent, I think Council should be willing to rethink it.

Meg Fyfe Watkins

Firstly, one of my overall priorities during my time in Council will be to move our city towards walkable, vibrant neighbourhoods and focus infrastructure towards supporting alternative modes of transportation in ways that actually make biking and taking transit as convenient as taking a car. We could measurably reduce transportation emission by creating feasible ways for people to walk their neighbourhood to get groceries, see their doctor, and visit a park, and to take alternative transit to other areas of the city.

Secondly, as we grow and new developments are improved, we can make a measurable difference in emissions from buildings by focusing on approving proposals for energy-efficient, climate-friendly, green developments that will move Nanaimo towards a more sustainable future.