I. Purpose
To track and show how Nanaimo City Council has voted on climate-related items using publicly available data.
II. Mission
Our mission is to publicize how individual Nanaimo councillors and the mayor have voted on climate-related items, enabling local constituents to hold the City Council accountable for meeting our emission reduction targets of between 50% and 58% below 2010 levels by 2030, and between 94% and 107% below 2010 levels by 2050.
III. Scope
Nanaimo Climate Action Hub’s Policy and Advocacy Working Group formed in April 2026 and, with a small group of volunteers, embarked on this project. Collaborative, consensus-based decision-making was used to develop the Scope. The scope of votes to include was informed by the ReImagine Nanaimo City Plan, which incorporates the city's climate action and resiliency plan and is based on the Nanaimo Doughnut, a framework that recognizes the vital importance and limitations of ecological systems in supporting social and economic development. Based on the ReImagine Plan and the city’s Climate Action Plan, seven categories relevant to climate action were identified:
| Categories for Votes | Description and Rationale |
|---|---|
| Low Emissions Buildings | This category captures initiatives to reduce buildings' greenhouse gas emissions. Buildings account for up to almost one third of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, to meet its GHG emissions reduction goals, the city adopted initiatives targeting new housing and large complex buildings, existing buildings and renewable energy. Reference ReImagine Plan C1.1 |
| Low Emissions Transportation & Mobility | This category captures initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions related to how we, along with goods and services, get around in the city. The votes in this category relate to parking, EVs, EV charging network, transit, and active transportation. Transportation accounts for a significant portion of Nanaimo’s emissions. Safe, low-emissions means of getting around Nanaimo lower greenhouse gas emissions and increase resiliency and equity. Reference ReImagine Plan C2 Connected Nanaimo & C1.1 |
| Conservation & Greening Nanaimo |
Trees, urban forests, watersheds and functioning ecosystems provide low-carbon resilience. This category includes votes that protect urban trees and watersheds and promote redevelopment of brownfield sites (abandoned, idle or underutilized commercial or industrial facilities that may be contaminated). Reference ReImagine Nanaimo C1 – Resilient and Regenerative Ecosystems |
| Climate Resilient Community | This category includes adaptive measures taken to reduce the risk of hazards from a changing climate. We also include measures to support food security, poverty mitigation, and access to shelter - all basic necessities that are threatened by climate change. ReImagine Nanaimo C3 |
| Solid Waste Reduction | Waste reduction and diversion reduce methane emissions, a potent greenhouse gas with 80 times the heat-trapping capacity of carbon dioxide (CO2) that is created by landfills. Food diversion in particular not only reduces emissions but also creates resilience by increasing food security. Waste that is diverted from landfills may also be recycled or repurposed, decreasing the production of plastics and extraction of raw materials. |
| Urban Sprawl | Reducing urban sprawl and creating conveniently walkable neighbourhoods reduces the greenhouse gas emissions associated with extending services and traffic to far-reaching areas. |
| Reconciliation | Addressing injustices and inequities is essential for a resilient community able to withstand the changing climate. Collaborative land-use planning and Indigenous-led land management for holistic, long-term environmental stewardship benefits all of us. |
IV. Methodology
This website uses publicly available data extracted from the City of Nanaimo’s council meeting dashboard. The dashboard shows how the mayor and each council member voted on items at regular and special council meetings and at public hearings.
We extracted all items voted on at council meetings between November 7, 2022 and July 6, 2026. Each item was reviewed by two members of the project committee to decide whether the item fit any of the categories in our project scope. We included both items deemed to have a significant “positive impact” towards meeting the city’s climate goals and those deemed to have a significant “negative impact,” again according to our project scope. When there was disagreement between the two reviewers, the decision was reviewed by other committee members to reach consensus.
A Vote can be denoted in three ways to convey the impact of carrying or defeating the item the council voted on has on the climate:
- A Vote is shown as Climate-Positive when it has a "positive impact” on the climate. This includes votes in favour of Climate-Positive item, and votes against Climate-Negative items (both are denoted by a green colour and check mark).
- A Vote can be shown as Climate-Negative when it has a "negative impact" on the climate. This includes votes in favour of Climate-Negative items, and votes against Climate-Positive items (both denoted by a red colour and an X).
- Lastly, a Vote can be shown as Absent when a councillor is away or recused from the vote.
This assessment, including the use of colour and checkmarks or x’s, is not in any way an endorsement of the councillor or how they voted. Instead, it presents the information in a way that clarifies the policy impact of the vote.
Decision Process for Keeping or Excluding Items
An effort was made to focus on meaningful decisions and exclude housekeeping-type items. For example, while we included items to establish the home energy retrofit financing program, we did not include the items that council voted on each time a property owner made an application to participate in the home energy retrofit financing program.
We opted to include one vote per motion to keep the number of items manageable, avoid redundancy, and incorporate only the last vote. Bylaws and bylaw amendments have to pass three readings before a final vote to adopt them. We included the last vote that took place on any relevant motion. For example, this means that if a bylaw amendment passed the first two readings but failed at the third reading, we included only the failed third reading, with each councillor’s corresponding vote. For bylaws or amendments that were adopted, we included only the final vote on adoption.
V. Disclaimers and Limitations
This website is not an endorsement of the mayor and council or how they voted. Instead, it presents the information in a way that clarifies the policy impact of the vote. Please note that the mayor and council must often take numerous factors into consideration when voting on an item.
The reasons for the way the mayor and council have voted on an item are not captured on this website. Interested residents can watch the video recording of any council meeting to hear council’s discussion about the item via the city’s website. Note that you can skip directly to the relevant part of the recording by clicking on the agenda item in the HTML version of the meeting agenda.
The data provided on this website comes from the City of Nanaimo’s council meeting dashboard. Nanaimo Climate Action Hub has not cross-checked every vote recorded on the dashboard against the meeting minutes or the video. Any discrepancies between what is shown on the dashboard, the meeting minutes, and the meeting video originate with the City of Nanaimo; they are the ones who can make corrections. Please contact their Legislative Services Team if you see any discrepancies.