CANMORE ALL-CANDIDATES FORUM on the environment: event details, forum format, and questions for candidates

The Biosphere Institute of the Bow Valley will convene the Canmore All-Candidates Forum on the Environment prior to municipal elections. This forum is an opportunity for residents to hear directly from candidates on how they plan to address the environmental challenges and opportunities facing Canmore.

Executive Director Gareth Thomson will facilitate the forums, with questions developed in collaboration with Bow Valley environmental organizations.

Event Details

Date: Thursday, 2 October, 7-9 p.m.
Location: Canmore Seniors’ Association, Creekside Hall
Cost: Free and open to the public. Although this event is free, your donation at the event to help cover the cost of the venue and A/V will be gratefully received.

The forum will also be broadcast live and recorded so that community members can follow along virtually in real time or watch afterward. We will share the broadcast link on this page once it becomes available.

Forum Format

  • Opening Statements: Each candidate will begin with a prepared two-minute statement addressing the environmental theme of the forum.

  • Quick Responses: All candidates will then participate in a round of rapid “yes or no” questions designed to highlight clear positions on key issues.

  • Main Questions: Candidates received a list of environmentally themed questions in advance. Each candidate will randomly draw one of these questions from the hat to respond to.

  • Audience Questions: Members of the audience will be invited to pose their own questions directly to the candidates.

  • Closing: The forum will conclude with a final, targeted question for the mayoral candidates.

QUESTIONS FOR CANDIDATES

Wildlife

  1. Would you support amending the Municipal Development Plan and current zoning to allow a hotel/spa or other development on lands adjacent to Rundleview, the Quarry Lake Habitat Patch, and the Canmore Nordic Centre—lands that are currently designated as Community Open Space and Recreation?  How would you balance proposed development on these lands with the need to maintain wildlife connectivity between Banff and Kananaskis?

  2. What policies should Canmore implement to manage growing visitation and increased use of the trail system around our town?

  3. The Bow Valley is known for its work on wildlife coexistence, but population growth and increased visitation threatens this balance. How would you improve the integrity of wildlife corridors and reduce human–wildlife conflict in and around Canmore, especially at development edges? Would you support funding to educate trail users about the importance and location of wildlife corridors?

  4. Canmore residents sometimes see affordability and conservation pitted against each other. How will you address affordability issues without compromising environmental and conservation goals?

  5. Residents value wildlife, but their actions sometimes don’t reflect those values. How will you encourage Canmore residents and visitors to align their actions with their values around wildlife protection?

  6. Are you committed to following the BCEAG Wildlife Corridor and Habitat Patch Guidelines for Canmore’s Habitat Patches and Wildlife Corridors? What needs to be done on this front?

  7. What specific steps would you take to ensure stronger enforcement of on-leash rules in Canmore? 


    Climate Action

  8. Wildfire is a major risk in the Bow Valley. What steps will you take to protect Canmore residents, visitors, and infrastructure?  What would you do to accelerate FireSmart practices around homes and businesses?

  9. As wildfire risks grow in the Bow Valley, the Town has built large firebreaks. However, these activities create large amounts of slash, which is currently piled and burned, producing both smoke and greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. Would you champion alternatives to burning, such as hauling the slash to a facility that can use it for energy or mulching, biochar, or natural decomposition?

  10. Which elements of Canmore’s Climate Emergency Action Plan will you prioritize in the next four years?  What actions would you take to help Canmore businesses and residents reduce their greenhouse gas emissions?

  11. Wildfire is a major risk in the Bow Valley. What steps will you take to protect Canmore’s residents, visitors, and infrastructure?  What will you do to ensure those steps also constitute habitat improvement for wildlife?

  12. The Town currently offers some incentive programs to support environmental initiatives. What other programs and incentives would you support to help residents switch to lower-carbon technologies (heat pumps, e-bikes, etc) and reduce their energy bills?

  13.  How would you use municipal influence to support Alberta’s transition to low-carbon energy and stronger climate-friendly building codes?

  14. Buildings are responsible for about one-third of Canmore’s greenhouse gas emissions. What will you do to ensure new buildings meet high-efficiency standards, and what incentives would you offer for retrofits?

  15. We can only manage what we measure. The Town of Canmore currently measures its greenhouse gas emissions and has a plan to reduce those emissions.  Would you support requiring businesses to measure and report their energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, and to help them reduce those emissions?  How would you implement this?

    Sustainable Food Production

  16. Food costs are rising in the Bow Valley. What would you do to support local food production (community gardens, greenhouses, farmers’ markets, etc.) and consumers' access to affordable, healthy food?

    Overarching Environment / Sustainability

  17. Would you support a new Town-led community visioning process for Canmore, and if so, how would you ensure it is inclusive and effective?

  18. Many environmental issues require regional cooperation. What would you do to strengthen Canmore’s collaboration with Banff, Parks Canada, and the Province to address shared environmental challenges, and which issues would you prioritize?

  19. Canmore’s Land Use Bylaw is currently being rewritten. What changes would you make to this bylaw to strengthen environmental protection?

  20.  Which improvements to Canmore’s transit, cycling, and walking infrastructure would you prioritize to reduce traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions?

  21. Would you support creating a conservation fund for future land purchases to protect natural areas, funded by tourism revenue or other sources?  If not, why not?  If so, how would you go about doing this?

  22. How will you ensure underrepresented and equity-deserving residents (Indigenous, newcomers, immigrant, low-income populations, etc.) have a voice in environmental decision-making and municipal planning?

  23.  What steps would you take to move away from a growth-driven economic model toward a sustainable, steady-state economy that balances community needs with ecosystem integrity?

  24. Would you support the creation of a comprehensive regional transportation plan (Kananaskis through Banff) that addresses the climate emergency and ecological/social limits?  If not, why not?  If so, how would you go about this?

  25. Would you support requesting a Regional Environmental Assessment for the Bow Valley, given ongoing development and tourism proposals? If not, why not?  If so, how would you go about this?

  26. There is a proposal for a new passenger train that would connect Calgary, Canmore, and Banff, with some leaders lobbying for the Building Canada Act to be applied to this proposal. Would you support the creation of this train? Why, or why not?

  27. Sometimes there is a gap between the good environmental work the municipality undertakes, and what the community knows about that work. What would you do to close that gap?

  28. As more people come to Canmore, there seems to be more people idling their vehicles. If elected, how would you improve and enforce the anti-idling bylaw?