Combating climate change is what inspired Michael Doherty to throw his hat in the ring as a candidate for the Green Party in the Victoria riding for the 2025 federal election.
“I love life, I love humans, I love our natural world,” he said. “The things that actually threaten our future – the future of our children, our grandchildren, future generations – it just seems to me terrible that we are not taking steps to prevent that harm.”
Raised on Salt Spring Island, Doherty's passion for the environment began over 40 years ago at the University of Victoria, where he earned a bachelor's degree in political science.
“It wasn't until I left and moved here ... that I actually became aware of the wider world and of the various problems that were facing us,” said the candidate. "Studying there really opened my eyes.”
Doherty soon volunteered with the Sierra Club – a non-profit dedicated to environmental protection and restoration. That experience would lead him to obtain law degrees from UVic and schools in England and Scotland.
“I'd been ... doing lobbying and media relations on issues like old-growth protection and wildlife protection, and energy and climate change, and it just seemed like we were always fighting losing battles," he said. “I thought, if I become a lawyer, maybe I can be more effective.”
With his wealth of legal and political knowledge, Doherty would go on to work for the governments of Canada and British Columbia, in addition to the B.C. Public Interest Advocacy Centre and Ecojustice. In October, he stepped down from his role at the Office of the Attorney General of B.C. to seek election.
The environmental advocate explained that his experience makes him best qualified to represent Victorians in Ottawa.
“Parliament makes laws, and I'm a lawyer specializing in the field of public law,” he said. “I have federal government experience ... and my academic training is in political science and law."
A resident of downtown Victoria, Doherty, who picks the mandolin, practises karate and writes plays outside of work, noted he is well aware of the issues – big and small – facing folks on the south Island.
"At the local level, no one can get a GP, waiting times for medical procedures have grown ridiculously long, the shortage of housing, you know – all the problems we see," he said. "And then all the issues to do with the Trump administration in the United States."
While working to address these issues, the climate will remain at the forefront of the candidate's campaign.
"I would like to see humanity thrive and prosper into the future," he said. "The other parties just aren't ... serious about protecting the environment and protecting the conditions necessary for human life here on Earth."
