Ottawa is bracing for an unusual kind of visitor next week: seniors from both coasts, many driving electric vehicles, converging on Parliament Hill with a shared demand for the federal government. The Seniors' Climate Witness campaign is holding events in the city from September 19 to 24, 2026, with the effort culminating during the opening of Parliament.
Two caravans, one destination
A West Coast caravan of EV-driving seniors set out to push Ottawa toward greener policies, launching from Vancouver on September 9 and stopping in Revelstoke, B.C. the following day. The group then rolled through Regina, Saskatchewan the weekend after that before arriving in Ottawa on Friday, September 13. A second group, an East Coast caravan departing from Nova Scotia, is also making its way to Parliament Hill to join them.
What they're asking for
The Seniors' Climate Witness campaign has two central demands for the federal government. The first is to end subsidies and support for new fossil fuel exploration, pipelines, and related infrastructure. The second is to respect the rights of Indigenous Peoples and uphold Canada's commitments to reconciliation.
In a statement, the group said it is "deeply concerned by the federal government's plans to invest billions of public dollars in new fossil fuel pipelines rather than in accelerating the transition to a renewable energy future."
Voices from the road
Michael Polanyi, a co-founder involved with the caravan, framed the trip in blunt terms. "It does not make sense when people's homes are burning to put more money into fossil fuels," he said.
Laura Stewart, who joined the caravan from Saskatchewan, said the group's members see individual gestures as insufficient on their own. "People understand that changing their light bulbs or setting back their thermostat is nowhere near enough. We need collective action," she said.
Why Ottawa, why now
The timing is deliberate. With both a West Coast and an East Coast caravan converging on the capital in the same window, the campaign is presenting itself as a genuinely national effort rather than a regional one.
For Ottawa residents, it means a visible cluster of climate demonstrators and EVs around Parliament Hill for the better part of a week, timed squarely with the political calendar's return to business. Whether the demands land with the federal government remains to be seen, but the seniors behind the wheel have already made their point simply by showing up.
Sources: Black Press (The Northern View), Seniors' Climate Witness (official), CP24
