| Dear Asarial,
Spring is in the air, and I can’t quite believe we’re already four months into 2023. The past few months haven’t been easy — the cost of living crisis continues to affect most of us. Corporate greed and political inaction have left many stranded. [1] The latest IPCC report was delivered as “the final warning” for humanity to address the climate crisis at the scale and speed necessary. [2] But as I look back on the start of 2023, I’m struck by how the Leadnow community has shown up. It’s only through the power of collective action that we can build the just, equitable, and climate-safe future we all deserve. Here’s a snapshot of what we’ve done together: Ramped up the pressure on Big Oil For years, Leadnow has been a thorn in Big Oil’s side as we call out their role in causing climate destruction. So when the federal government delayed their emissions cap policy at the end of last year, our team rolled up our sleeves to plot how to turn the heat up. Leadnow volunteers ran dozens of MP meetings and made hundreds of calls, pressuring MPs to back an ambitious emissions cap so Canada finally does our fair share globally and meets our climate targets. 
Leadnow supporters meeting their MP, Julie Dzerowicz, about the emissions cap! Hundreds of Leadnow supporters across Canada have crowdfunded a host of hard-hitting billboards holding political leaders and Big Oil to account during high-pressure moments — like Biden’s first visit to Canada, or the annual Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers’ meeting.
And together, we kept up the pressure for a windfall tax on Big Oil’s excess profits. At the Liberal Party’s annual MP meeting, we flooded MPs’ phones and placed ads in the Hill Times and CBC. Ahead of the 2023 budget, we sent over 8000 consultation submissions and over 12,000 emails to Finance Minister Freeland calling for Big Oil to pay their fair share.
 A mobile van billboard outside of Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario. Defending a strong public healthcare system
As the federal government worked with provinces on a healthcare deal, you flooded Prime Minister Trudeau and Health Minister Duclos with over 12,575 calls for a deal that didn’t allow public money to be funnelled into private, for-profit healthcare, but instead built a thriving and resilient public healthcare system.
In Ontario, when Premier Ford introduced the dangerous Bill 60, paving the way for more privatization of our healthcare system, over 37,000 Ontarians signed petitions, and thousands sent emails. We’ve also partnered with the Ontario Nurses Association, supporting nurses and frontline workers as they fight Bill 124 — Ford’s wage-suppressing bill — and entered negotiations for a fairer contract.
Calling out RBC’s financing of the climate crisis
We joined forces with Wet’suwet’en Land Defenders and allies to take on RBC, Canada’s biggest funder of fossil fuels and an investor in Coastal GasLink — a pipeline project that’s tearing through Wet’suwet’en land without consent. [3]
With RBC in the spotlight ahead of their AGM, we ramped up our pressure on them to stop funding fossil fuels and violating the rights of Indigenous Peoples. We crowdfunded ads, flooded their social media accounts, and the inboxes of RBC’s executives. And that’s not all — together, we organized over 30 actions at RBC locations across the country on Fossil Fools’ Day, making the headlines!
On the day of the AGM, a Wet’suwet’en-led delegation of Land defenders and Chiefs entered the AGM as proxies for shareholders — directly calling out RBC and demanding change.
Just one of many headlines on the RBC Day of Action on April 1, 2023.
People power vs Loblaw’s corporate greed
As people across Canada struggle to pay their bills, Loblaws and other corporate giants have been enjoying skyrocketing profits. Leadnow supporters aren’t having it. Over the past months, we’ve ramped up the pressure, calling for an excess profits tax on corporate profits. We took our demands right to CEO Galen Weston. Over 22,000 of us signed an open letter calling on him to stop profiting off the cost of living crisis — and then we delivered it straight to Loblaws’ HQ.
The open letter delivery – right to Loblaw’s front doors!
Asarial, thank you. It’s in moments of reflection like these that I get the strength to keep fighting — and I hope this email does the same for you.
The fight for a just, equitable and climate-safe world isn’t an easy one. Our opponents have deeper pockets and connections in high places.
But by working together, we can make that world possible. Leadnow doesn’t accept funding from political parties or cashed-up corporations: our work is funded by people like you. If you can manage, please chip in to help Leadnow win on the campaigns you care about.
With gratitude,
Shanaaz Gokool, Executive Director, and the Leadnow Team
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