A farewell from our long-time Community Energy Director
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From the ferry: Sointula, a remote and rural community on Malcolm Island. (Shannon Lough, Ecotrust Canada)
This summer, our Community Energy team travelled to communities on and around northern Vancouver Island to speak with people who had taken part in our Home Energy Savings Program. We met with seniors, community organizers, and families who had successfully installed heat pumps and insulation with our support along their retrofit journey.
One of those communities was the rural and remote village of Sointula, on Malcolm Island.
In this month’s blog, Graham Anderson, former Director of Community Energy, shares what he heard from Marnie, Linny, and Vern about their retrofit journey: getting new heat pumps and adding insulation with support from the CleanBC Energy Savings Program (a program we’re advocating for amid cutbacks).
Marnie, a Sointula resident, with her newly installed heat pump after receiving support from Ecotrust Canada. (Submitted photo)
As it happened, this visit coincided with Graham’s final month at Ecotrust Canada after eleven years with the organization.
Read his parting words and the impact our work has had on people living in rural and remote communities.
A Farewell from Graham Anderson
Before Graham finished his last week at Ecotrust Canada after 11 incredible years with our organization, we asked him, “What are you most proud of from your time here, and what made it possible?”
Here’s what he wrote:
“When we started working on energy insecurity with rural and Indigenous partners, it became clear very quickly that households faced major barriers and there was very limited support to make upgrades.
I am blown away by the scale of positive change we have been a part of — thousands of households have been able to install efficiency retrofits through programming we advocated for, and hundreds directly with our team’s support.
Today, lower-income households across BC are able to get heat pumps and other efficiency upgrades completed at no cost by signing up for a program. Programs are designed with the needs of rural residents in mind — for example, supporting households to retain their wood stoves as backup heat.
We worked alongside many groups to create this change, playing to our strengths as catalysts, conveners, and advocates — and drawing on our real-world experience in a way many others could not.
I am incredibly proud of and grateful for the Community Energy team. This work built slowly over a decade, from something I tracked off the side of my desk to a team of six of us working full time. I am so grateful to everyone who jumped in on this effort, and I can see how each team member has helped shape our direction and made big contributions to our impact. I can’t wait to see what comes next for the team!
What made it possible from the very start was support from leadership and a culture that embraces innovation. I was able to walk into this organization, and within months there was an Innovation Day planned where we could just explore new ideas. As is often the case, the initial idea — off-grid solar — was not where we ended up, but I was fully supported on an entrepreneurial journey, and through experimentation we found a compelling area of work with a genuine gap for our team to address.
I hope this culture of innovation remains part of Ecotrust Canada’s DNA, and that the team continues to embrace an entrepreneurial spirit to keep punching above our weight in impact.” — Graham Anderson
What You Need to Know About the Province’s Cutbacks to the CleanBC Energy Savings Program
As of July 6, 2026, cuts to the CleanBC Energy Savings Program (ESP) will prevent many lower-income households from accessing important retrofit supports, diminishing the impact of this program. Insulation, window, and door rebates were removed entirely, and heat pump rebate amounts were reduced by $1,000-$7,000.
Since 2022, ESP has delivered over 30,000 rebates, enabling low- and moderate-income households in BC to access home energy upgrades. These retrofits, including heat pumps, insulation, and electrical service upgrades, have improved quality of life and reduced energy cost pressures, while adding life-saving cooling to combat dangerously hot summers. Never has it been more important for government to keep this program intact.
See our detailed response and comparison chart.
Where We Work
The Ocean Mistress, a fishing and packer vessel, was one of our frequent landing sites this season. The enthusiastic team helps to offload fishing vessels as they come in with their catch. Ocean Mistress crew will get hip-deep in the holds to grab the fish for weighing. As fisheries monitors, our job is to ensure each fish is counted, correctly identified, and weighed.
Some evenings were filled with 10-plus small commercial fishing boats waiting to offload their catch. In these moments, you want to be fast, accurate, and kind. The harvesters have spent their whole day fishing, the packer crew has spent the day moving fish, and as the sun starts to set, the pesky no-see-ums emerge. So, while you are being splashed with fish juices and feeling nips at any exposed skin, be sure to give a smile and share a laugh with the hard-working crew.
(Matina Ressl photo)
P.S. What would you like to learn more about in future newsletters?
Proving the Possible
Ecotrust Canada works with rural, remote, and Indigenous communities toward building an economy that provides for a healthy and resilient natural environment; sustainable and abundant energy, food, and housing; prosperous and meaningful livelihoods; and vibrant cultures and inclusive societies. We call this approach, building an economy that provides for life.
Thank you for your continued support!
The Ecotrust Canada Team
