VANCOUVER - Teen activist Greta Thunberg will be in Vancouver this week attending a climate strike planned for Friday.
"The movement will take to the streets again this Friday for a post-election climate strike featuring local Indigenous activists," organizers said in a release.
The rally begins at 11 a.m. Friday in the square outside the Vancouver Art Gallery. Organizers say it's to ensure climate action is at the forefront of politician's minds following the election.
"I was too young to vote in Monday’s election. So I, along with the rest of my generation, am raising my voice in the only way available to me: taking to the streets," organizer Allie Ho said in a news release.
Thunberg joined a similar event in Edmonton last week as protesters marched on that province's legislature demanding action on climate change.
The 16-year-old from Sweden has been striking from school over environmental concerns since August 2018. She gained international attention, spoken at United Nations summits and been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
Friday's rally follows several other recent climate strikes in Vancouver. On Sept. 27, thousands of people gathered outside City Hall to march into downtown via the Cambie Street Bridge as part of the General Strike for Climate Justice. It coincided with other climate marches around the world, and Thunberg attended one in Montreal where up to 300,000 people may have taken part.
Climate action group Extinction Rebellion led another demonstration that shut down the Burrard Street Bridge to vehicle traffic on Oct. 7, coordinated with other demonstrations on arterial bridges in cities across the country. After that, Extinction Rebellion organized a smaller protest marching through downtown Vancouver during rush hour on Oct. 18.
"We know we are in a climate crisis, and people worldwide are already suffering from the impacts. We are going to keep showing up until our government acts with the urgency required to prevent further catastrophe,'' climate strike organizer Sam Lin said in the release.
