Bruce McGuigan

I have spent much of my working life building community organizations and bringing people together to solve practical problems.
For me, climate action has to move beyond statements of concern and become part of how we manage our city. Personally, that has meant commuting by bicycle whenever practical and trying to reduce our household carbon footprint.
As Mayor, I will bring the same approach I have used throughout my community work: listen carefully, bring people with different expertise and experiences together, establish measurable goals and follow through.

My three priorities and budget priorities would be climate-resilient neighbourhoods and infrastructure, a much better regional transportation system, and protecting and expanding Victoria’s natural infrastructure. I would prioritize City spending toward measures that measurably reduce climate risk, with clear costs, responsibilities and public reporting on results.
First, Victoria must prepare for the climate impacts already arriving: extreme heat, wildfire smoke, drought, flooding and severe weather. That means resilient public facilities, shade and tree canopy, water management, cooling spaces and neighbourhood resilience.
Second, transportation is both an environmental and economic issue. Congestion wastes fuel, wages, public money and people’s time. Victoria needs strong regional leadership at the CRD table to build better transit and connected active-transportation networks that give people practical alternatives and move more people efficiently.
Third, we need to protect and expand trees, green space, healthy soils, watersheds and other natural infrastructure.
Housing, environmental protection and economic prosperity can often be advanced together. . Good planning should achieve multiple goals at once: more homes people can afford, protection of existing affordable housing, stronger neighbourhoods, lower emissions and resilient infrastructure.
Most importantly, residents should be involved early. Major environmental and land-use decisions should not arrive at the public after the important choices have effectively already been made.

Extreme heat needs to be treated as an infrastructure and public-safety issue, not simply an emergency response issue.
I would prioritize protecting mature shade trees, expanding canopy in neighbourhoods with the greatest heat vulnerability, increasing shade and drinking-water access in public spaces, and ensuring libraries, recreation facilities and other public buildings can function as accessible cooling and clean-air spaces.
We should also identify residents who face the greatest risks, including seniors, people with disabilities, people living alone, renters and people experiencing homelessness, and work with community organizations and neighbourhood networks before an emergency occurs.
I support practical measures that make homes safer during extreme heat, including protections for renters, while working with tenants, housing providers and building owners on implementation and affordability.
I also want Victoria to strengthen neighbourhood resilience hubs. During heat, wildfire smoke or other emergencies, people should know where they can go, what services are available and how to check on neighbours who may need help.
Climate preparedness works best when City Hall and citizens build resilience together.

Victoria should protect mature trees and Garry oak ecosystems while creating the housing our community needs.
The key is planning these objectives together from the beginning rather than treating trees, housing and infrastructure as competing considerations after a development has already been designed.
I support measurable progress toward Victoria’s tree-canopy target, stronger consideration of mature trees and adequate soil and permeable surfaces during development planning, and expanding canopy where it provides the greatest environmental and public-health benefit.
I would review tree-protection and development standards so that soil permeability and canopy retention or replacement are considered and properly prioritized from the start of development approvals, and require annual public reporting on canopy change and progress toward the 40% target.
Environmental protection should carry real weight in development decisions. Where mature trees or sensitive ecosystems are at risk, the City should require evidence that reasonable design alternatives have been considered, and cost or convenience alone should not justify their loss. Where removal is unavoidable, replacement should restore or improve canopy and ecological value. Clear requirements should be established at the beginning of the approval process.
Major changes affecting established neighbourhoods also require meaningful citizen involvement. Residents should be engaged before important choices have effectively been made, provided with reliable information about the trade-offs involved, and shown how their participation affected the final decision.
We can build more housing, protect important ecosystems and make neighbourhoods greener and more resilient. Good planning should require us to solve these challenges together rather than choosing one

Victoria needs practical, measurable climate action focused on the areas where municipal government can make a meaningful difference.
I would focus on buildings, transportation, waste and climate-resilient infrastructure.
Building efficiency should reduce both emissions and household operating costs. City Hall should work with other governments to make retrofits accessible to homeowners, renters, non-profit housing providers and small landlords rather than creating requirements people cannot afford to meet.
Where municipal action can make a measurable difference, I would use a practical mix of standards, incentives and financing rather than relying on requirements people cannot afford to meet.
Transportation is equally important. Better regional public transit and connected active transportation can move more people while reducing congestion, wasted fuel and emissions. As Mayor, I would make stronger CRD cooperation and regional transportation leadership a priority.
We should also reduce unnecessary demolition and construction waste, make better use of existing buildings where practical, expand Victoria’s tree canopy and green infrastructure, and prepare neighbourhoods for extreme heat and wildfire smoke.
Finally, targets have to mean something. City Hall should publish clear baselines, measurable objectives and regular progress reports so residents can see whether policies are actually reducing emissions.
My approach would be simple: set the goal, measure the results, report them publicly and change course when something isn't working.