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Civic Action

Doing something tangible for a cause is an easy way to make civic action a part of your life. Here are a few ideas on how to change the world a little at a time.

  • Elections
  • Environment
    • Bike paths  ―  Cycling is quite popular in Montréal, both as a means of transportation and as a recreational activity. Hundreds of bike paths criss-cross the city, downtown and in more residential neighbourhoods.
    • Community gardens  ―  The City of Montréal offers its citizens community gardens to grow vegetables, fruits or flowers. Growing what you eat is a good way to eat home-grown produce while indulging in an enjoyable pastime.  
    • Défi Climat  ―  Do your share to fight climate change by enrolling in Défi Climat!  Commit to taking concrete steps to change your life and travel habits in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
    • Équiterre  ―  If you’re concerned about the environment, visit the Équiterre Web site. This organization tells you how you can help save the planet by doing such things as eating local produce, switching to organic vegetables and buying fair-trade products – small steps that can make a big difference!
    • Public markets  ―  Montréal has many public markets, some open year round. Try them out and do your part to encourage farmers by buying local while at the same time enjoying a fun outing.
    • Troc-tes-trucs  ―  Instead of throwing out clothing, toys and other articles you no longer need, why not trade them in? Look for organized exchange events in your community and become a more responsible consumer.
  • Housing
    • Housing co-ops  ―  Living in a co-op means renting your apartment but co-owning the building with the other tenants. Tenant-owners must help manage the building and the co-op.
  • Social entrepreneurship
    • Institut du Nouveau Monde  ―  The INM’s new program À go, on change le monde ! gives young people ways to get involved in social entrepreneurship projects.