Learn about Climate Action London’s 2026 Candidate Questionnaire, Responses, Election Resources and more.
Climate and Environmental concerns and solutions are part of an overall integrated community plan and good governance for municipalities. They are multi-solving and have many co-benefits. Most City of London issues are interdependent and should not be siloed or address as one-offs.
When: October 26,2026
Official Candidate Listing (City of London)
What Ward am I in? Update Ward Map (details below)
Read the Candidate Responses
For each question (statement) the candidate ranks whether they strongly disagree, slightly disagree, neither agrees or disagrees, slightly agrees, strongly agrees. They can also add comments about the issue or further explain their position. We also list which candidates did NOT respond to our questionnaire.
Climate Action London Questions
and why we asked them
We structure our questions in a couple of ways. One, we include enough specifics to avoid generic answers and platitudes where it seems almost everyone agrees. Secondly, we try to frame current issues in way that reveals the candidates vision for the future of the City. A strong candidate on the Climate and Sustainability may only slightly agree but provide comments of an alternative vision that address the underlying issue.
Improved London Transit Service
It is a priority to improve London Transit service by having 15 minute service frequency during peak weekday hours (maximum headway) on all main arterial routes while maintaining 10 minute service frequency on Rapid Transit routes. 15 minute service frequency is comparable to service in cities like Halifax and Kitchener-Waterloo. Additionally, London Transit should work to eliminate neighbourhood gaps where residents are not within 400m walking distance of a regularly service bus stop.
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There are many co-benefits to improved transit - lower emissions, equity, economic - getting employees to work. While the first parts of the Rapid Transit are starting to be operations adequate service relies on an entire network. London has intensified with many higher density buildings but to date has failed to provide adequate mobility options other than the car. This will only lead to congestion so public transit is a primary solution. Just getting some people to take transit makes it faster for those still using their cars.
Affordable Housing Targets
It is a high priority that the City of London meet the goal in the London Plan that 25% of new housing, in aggregate, (and 40% for secondary plans) is affordable to low- and moderate-income households. London has been falling short on this goal therefore it should commit to all means available to the City to increase the number of new affordable units including leverage of public lands, financial incentives to developers by reducing fees, expedited approval timelines and concierge service team for affordable developments and use of the Canada Housing catalogue of pre-approved designs. Additionally, the City should prevent private developers from turning affordable rental units into expensive ones.
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There are many co-benefits to improved transit - lower emissions, equity, economic - getting employees to work. While the first parts of the Rapid Transit are starting to be operations adequate service relies on an entire network. London has intensified with many higher density buildings but to date has failed to provide adequate mobility options other than the car. This will only lead to congestion so public transit is a primary solution. Just getting some people to take transit makes it faster for those still using their cars.
Climate Change Reserve Fund
It is important to restore funding to the Climate Change Reserve Fund to $1m per year, as it was when it was initially created and only use the funds for genuine expenses related to mitigation and adaptation projects designed to increase London’s resilience to the increasing impacts of the Climate Emergency.
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There are many co-benefits to improved transit - lower emissions, equity, economic - getting employees to work. While the first parts of the Rapid Transit are starting to be operations adequate service relies on an entire network. London has intensified with many higher density buildings but to date has failed to provide adequate mobility options other than the car. This will only lead to congestion so public transit is a primary solution. Just getting some people to take transit makes it faster for those still using their cars.
More Aggressive Mode Share Targets (walking, cycling, transit)
The City of London should establish more aggressive 2050 mode share targets when they are next reviewed in 2028. it is important that the City move toward more daily trips by walking, cycling and transit given an increasing population, London’s GHG emissions slightly increasing and drastically missing CEAP targets and an increasing number of High Density and Medium Density residential buildings. It makes life more affordable for all Londoners.
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There are many co-benefits to improved transit - lower emissions, equity, economic - getting employees to work. While the first parts of the Rapid Transit are starting to be operations adequate service relies on an entire network. London has intensified with many higher density buildings but to date has failed to provide adequate mobility options other than the car. This will only lead to congestion so public transit is a primary solution. Just getting some people to take transit makes it faster for those still using their cars.
Adhere to building height maximums as per the London Plan
Building height maximums as specified in the London Plan should be strictly adhered to as they represent comprehensive plans for the growth of the city taking into account utility demands, emergency services, mobility plans, and preserving neighbourhood character. Recently, council has been approving many developments that exceed both maximum heights and densities as per the London Plan. Given that place types such as downtown, transit villages and corridors and urban corridors already allow significant building heights to meet housing supply demands and intensification targets, individual exceptions should not be allowed but changes to these height and density maximums should only be addressed through official plan amendments.
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There are many co-benefits to improved transit - lower emissions, equity, economic - getting employees to work. While the first parts of the Rapid Transit are starting to be operations adequate service relies on an entire network. London has intensified with many higher density buildings but to date has failed to provide adequate mobility options other than the car. This will only lead to congestion so public transit is a primary solution. Just getting some people to take transit makes it faster for those still using their cars.
Mandatory Lobbyist Registry
The City of London should implement a mandatory lobbyist registry. It would help promote public trust, prevent conflicts of interest and ensure fair access. Over 15 Ontario municipalities have mandatory lobbyist registries, many of which have low cost solutions. For example Guelph has implemented a solution costing less than $25,000 per year.
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There are many co-benefits to improved transit - lower emissions, equity, economic - getting employees to work. While the first parts of the Rapid Transit are starting to be operations adequate service relies on an entire network. London has intensified with many higher density buildings but to date has failed to provide adequate mobility options other than the car. This will only lead to congestion so public transit is a primary solution. Just getting some people to take transit makes it faster for those still using their cars.
Moratorium on AI Data Centres
The City of London should implement a 1-2 year moratorium on AI Data Centres. There are many harmful aspects to AI Data Centres such as straining local energy grids, constant industrial level noise, heat island impacts over 2 degrees potential up to 10kms away, high water usage or other potential negative environmental impacts from maintaining closed loop cooling systems. AI Data Centres also provide very few jobs after construction. A moratorium would allow proper higher level government regulation and standards to be created before putting London residents at risk.
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There are many co-benefits to improved transit - lower emissions, equity, economic - getting employees to work. While the first parts of the Rapid Transit are starting to be operations adequate service relies on an entire network. London has intensified with many higher density buildings but to date has failed to provide adequate mobility options other than the car. This will only lead to congestion so public transit is a primary solution. Just getting some people to take transit makes it faster for those still using their cars.
Green Champions
For us, who stands out as climate, environmental and sustainability champions?
October’s Elections in London is Important for the Future of Ontario’s Environment
It is clear that the provincial government has been… much of the burden of diverting new homes away farmland and natural spaces, slashing carbon emissions, and ending car-dependency will fall on the Cities, Regional, and local governments.
The good news is that there’s a great deal municipal governments can do – as long as this October’s elections produce mayors and councils committed to delivering the policy changes needed to protect Ontario’s environment. London won’t be alone but we need to do our part.
To help candidates craft their platforms –and help City of London residents decide how to use their time, money, volunteer hours, ballots – Climate Action London is flagging the municipal policy changes and initiatives in the City of London that would have the biggest positive impact on our shared environment.
Here’s how to distinguish environmental champions from greenwashing.
A STRONG ENVIRONMENT PLATFORM FOR LONDON WILL:
Stop sprawl and protect farmland & nature by planning and approving enough new compact, land-efficient homes within London to maintain our current urban boundaries and be able to accommodate London's projected population growth. This would be consistent with the London Plan, London’s Strategic Plan and the Climate Emergency Action Plan (CEAP).
Stop the spread of monster homes and create transit-supporting, complete communities by replacing “exclusionary zoning” with rules that instead incentivize landowners to add a lot of lower-cost new semi-detached homes, townhomes, low-rise walk-ups – plus compatible corner stores, home offices & amenities – when they rebuild houses in low-rise neighborhoods.
Prioritize funding of the Climate Emergency Action Plan (CEAP) in the next multi-year budget cycle. Staff reports and plans are only as good as the priority and funding they receive from council. Climate actions are investments that reduce future costs, avoid costs as the impacts of climate change become more pronounced and also reduce our emissions.
Prioritize public transit on London’s roads and reduce the number of car trips by completing already approved rapid transit projects for Downtown, South and East as well as approve Rapid transit projects for the West and North. Additionally create additional bus priority lanes on major transportation routes. Invest in the LTC (including electrification of the bus fleet) so they can provide frequent and reliable service even during peak periods when Western and Fanshawe students are in the City.
Make cycling the preferred mode of transportation for more Londoners by enhancing safe school routes that protect and promote walking and cycling for our children. Reduced speed limits by themselves are insufficient. Add protective barriers to a network of bike lanes and expand to create a network of separated bike lanes.
Reduce tailpipe emissions from those motor vehicle trips that we can’t eliminate, by rapidly adding electric vehicle chargers to all City owned parking lots and significantly increase sidewalk chargers to curbside parking spaces. Prohibit new developments with parking spaces unless 100% of parking spaces are EV Charging ready, with at least 25% of those parking spaces having EV chargers immediately.
Reduce reliance on fossil fuels for heating and electricity by opposing the construction, expansion or increased use of gas plants, by supporting a provincial phase-out of gas plants, by phasing out furnaces, water heaters, stoves and ovens in new homes that operate using fossil fuels and replace with electrification, and by helping fund energy efficiency & electric retrofits, solar energy systems and battery storage units in homes of all types.
Reduce environmental racism, classism, and encourage the construction of non-profit, deeply affordable and supportive housing by setting much more generous as-of-right permissions (eg., height, setback) for “social housing” than would be available to market-rate developments.
DYK that the two largest components of the City of London's Infrastructure Gap by program area are Transportation Services and Parks & Recreation. Many of the platform priorities above address the City's growing Infrastructure Gap.
DYK that London declared a Climate Emergency in April 23 2019. The Climate Emergency Action Plan was passed by Council April 5, 2022. London will need a strong forward looking council to implement many aspects of the CEAP.
Beware of an Environment Platform that:
Plans to maintain, or only moderately reduce, the current number of private automobile trips, based on the false assumption that the necessary transition from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles will be sufficient to deliver the emissions reductions we need. Even if all vehicles in London were EVs we not come close to meeting our emission reduction goals.
Leaves in place rules that make it hard to add lots of new low-rise walk-up apartments, multiplexes, & multi-tenant homes to London’s existing “single detached” residential neighborhoods, based on the false assumption that highrise buildings downtown will be sufficient by themselves to meet housing demand and prevent sprawl.
Co-opts rhetoric about “complete communities” or “mixed use development” as window dressing for greenfield development that sprawls beyond the current Urban Growth Boundary, which does not border existing built up areas, to support frequent transit, and a full range of amenities within walking distance. This approach costs existing taxpayers, makes future tax increases more likely and further worsens the Infrastructure Gap.
Foregoes less-expensive, quicker-to-implement public transit solutions like bus rapid transit lanes, bus priority lanes and protect bike lanes in favour of costly, resource-intensive, slow-to-implement projects, in order to avoid reallocating road space away from private automobiles
Obstructs the reform of discriminatory and “low-density” zoning by misrepresenting the preservation of aesthetic preferences – such as large front lawns, physical separation between houses, low building heights, or even the absence of playing children and pedestrians – as “environmental” priorities.
Mislead voters by paying lip service to the overhaul of land use planning, the rapid expansion of public transit, cycling and pedestrian infrastructure, and the other environmental policies your municipality needs, while refusing to fund those changes.