Ontario Climate Summit 2026

Hosted by the Urban Climate Alliance (UCA), the Ontario Climate Summit is a gathering of local climate action organizations from across the province to come together and work for stronger climate action in communities across Ontario.

In this 3-day summit, climate activists from across Ontario will connect, build skills, and collaborate to drive inclusive, effective, sustainable, and coordinated climate action in Ontario’s municipalities. Deliberately hosted after the October municipal elections across Ontario, 2026 summit’s focus is Post-municipal-election Climate Action.

Overall Summit Agenda:

Day 1 - Friday, November 13, evening
Opening Keynote Event with Valérie Plante
Venue: Beeton Hall, Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge St, Toronto, ON M4W 2G8 (Map)

Day 2 - Saturday, November 14, 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM
A full day of speakers and workshops on policy, skill development, and coordinated collaboration on a post-municipal-election climate agenda
Venue: International Living & Learning Centre (ILC), Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), 133 Mutual St, Toronto, ON M5B 2B2 (Map)

Day 3 - Sunday, November 15 morning
Facilitated tours of environmentally significant sites in Toronto. More info to be announced. 

Full Event Info, Good-to-Knows & FAQs

CLICK HERE to view full program details, agenda, accessibility info, travel info, and FAQs. Feel free to bookmark the link and check back for updates. 

Speakers & Panelists

Keynote Speaker on Fri, Nov 13, 2026
Valérie Plante, first female mayor of Montreal, Co-chair of the Elbows Up for Climate campaign, expert practitioner at the House of Public and International Affairs of the University of Montreal

Confirmed speakers and workshop leaders on Sat, Nov 14, 2026
Emily Alfred, Toronto Environmental Alliance
Ian Borsuk, Environment Hamilton
How-Sen Chong, Toronto Environmental Alliance
Derek Coronado, Citizens Environment Alliance (Windsor)
Dan Dicaire, Ottawa Community Housing
Evan Ferrari, eMerge Guelph
Albert Koehl, Community Bikeways Coalition
Lynda Lukasik, City of Hamilton
August Puranauth, TTCRiders
William van Geest, Ecology Ottawa

More speakers to be announced. 

Who should participate?

Participation in the summit is free and by invitation. We seek the participation of diverse organizations advancing climate action at the municipal level, whether in geography, size, mandate (within climate), municipality type, and more. We would particularly welcome the participation of Indigenous-led organizations.

To support participation and reduce financial barriers, travel stipends are available for organizations outside of Toronto, with a minimum of Day 2 attendance. Applications must be submitted during registration, and reimbursements will be processed after the summit upon receipt of an invoice.

If your organization is interested in participating in this summit but did not receive an invitation from the UCA, please contact us via the "Contact Us" button on this page or email uca@torontoenvironment.org and we will get back to you. 

Venue Accessibility

Day 1 and Day 2 venues are wheelchair accessible.
More info coming soon once sites for Day 3 are confirmed. 

Sustainability

Help us drive climate actions by creating less waste in this gathering. If you can, opt for lower-emission transportation options such as train, public transit, bikes, walking, or carpool to get around. For Day 2 and Day 3, please bring a refillable water bottle and reusable coffee cups if you have them. 

About the Urban Climate Alliance

Ontario Climate Summit is hosted by the Urban Climate Alliance (UCA), a network of municipal-level environmental nonprofits working to advance climate action in their communities. The Urban Climate Alliance consists of: Toronto Environmental Alliance, Ecology Ottawa, Environment Hamilton, and Citizens Environment Alliance in Windsor.

Funders, Partners & Supporters

The Ontario Climate Summit is made possible by the generous support of the Echo Foundation.

We are seeking for more financial support to this summit and there are a few ways you can support us: 

• If you would like to make a donation, you can donate here via Citizens Environment Alliance and indicate on the message that you would like the funds to go to the Ontario Climate Summit. Donations above $10 are eligible for a charitable tax receipt.

• If your organization is interested in sponsorship opportunities, please see sponsorship invite package and contact us at uca@torontoenvironment.org, we would love to hear from you.