Mediatoil Timeline
- Sep 2016
-
Bernard the Roughneck, dressed in a hard hat and coveralls, delivers a petition to Parliament Hill calling on the federal government to support Canada's energy industry.
9/21/2016
Tags: pro-oil sands;parliament hill;petition;civil society;government;industry;;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Aug 2016
-
The National Energy Board cancels a week of hearings after activists in Montreal protest Jean Charest's involvement with TransCanada.
8/30/2016
-
National Observer reveals former Quebec premier Jean Charest met with members of the National Energy Board while under contract with TransCanada in 2015.
8/26/2016
Tags: industry;quebec;transcanada;energy east;;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Jul 2016
-
A Husky Energy pipeline leaks some 250,000 litres of oil into the North Saskatchewan River, which supplies drinking water to several communities.
7/21/2016
Tags: oil spill;industry;husky energy;;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- May 2016
-
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responds to the Fort McMurray wildfires and evacuations and to May's comments, stating: "Placing a direct link between any fire or a flood and climate change goes a step beyond what is helpful and does not benefit a conversation we must have.”
5/4/2016
Tags: fort mcmurray; climate change; justin trudeau;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May responds "of course" when asked if the Fort McMurray wildfires are partly the fault of climate change, but later notes that no single event is linked to climate change alone.
5/4/2016
Tags: fort mcmurray; climate change; elizabeth may;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
A wildfire forces the evacuation of Fort McMurray. So-called "Eco-trolls" on social media claim the wildfire is "karma" for the city's involvement in oil sands development.
5/3/2016
Tags: fort mcmurray; climate change; social media;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Feb 2016
-
Reality TV celebrity Kevin O'Leary proposes a "Yes or No" national referendum on all pipelines.
2/9/2016
Tags: celebrity, pipeline;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Jan 2016
-
Comedian Scott Vrooman takes an environmental perspective to respond to Mercer's rant in a YouTube video: "If there's a war between the economy and the laws of nature, who do you think is going to win?"
1/28/2016
Tags: energy east; climate change; celebrity; social media;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Quebec comedian Jean-René Dufort responds to Mercer on Infoman (ICI Radio-Canada). Copying Mercer's rant in a graffitied alleyway, Dufort questions why Quebec is expected to "be a good neighbour" and agree to the Energy East proposal when British Columbia and the United States have said "no" to similar projects in the past.
1/28/2016
-
Comedian Rick Mercer criticises Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre for his opposition to the Energy East pipeline on The Rick Mercer Report. Mercer claims the pipeline would benefit the country as a whole, and that Quebec should do its part as a "good neighbour".
1/25/2016
-
Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre and other mayors from Montreal's neighbouring districts reject TransCanada's proposal to build the Energy East pipeline through their cities.
1/21/2016
Tags: pipeline; energy east; quebec;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responds to DiCaprio's comments at the World Economic Forum, clarifying that "families [are] suffering and out of work" due to the problems facing Canada's oil industry and that "inflamed rhetoric does not necessarily help".
1/20/2016
Tags: celebrity; climate change; justin trudeau;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Leonardo DiCaprio criticises the "corporate greed of the coal, oil and gas industries" at the World Economic Forum.
1/19/2016
- Dec 2015
-
Twitter users react to DiCaprio's misguided comments about the Calgary chinook.
12/9/2015
Tags: celebrity; climate change; social media;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Actor Leonardo DiCaprio mistakes a chinook for the "scary" effects of climate change while filming in Alberta.
12/9/2015
Tags: ;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Nov 2015
-
UN Climate Change Conference starts in Paris. Big Oil keeps a low profile, choosing "ad campaigns and sponsorships" over participation in the discussion at the Paris conference.
11/30/2015
Tags: climate change; ;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
On the eve of the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris, thousands of people participate in Climate Marches in cities across the globe.
11/28/2015
Tags: climate change; protest; civil society;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
David Suzuki compares oil sands industry to slavery, saying that to put the economy above climate change is like 19th century slave owners putting the economy above eliminating slavery.
11/24/2015
- Oct 2015
-
Canadian author Douglas Coupland writes an article for Vice Magazine titled "Black Goo, the Environment, And the End of the World", in which he details the oil spills that have occurred (and, Coupland warns, will continue to occur) on Vancouver's coasts.
10/6/2015
Tags: celebrity; oil spill; civil society; bc;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
President Obama denies TransCanada's permit application for Keystone XL. Democracy Now calls the event a "historic win for environmental activism."
10/6/2015
Tags: government; US; Keystone XL;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Sep 2015
-
DeSmog.ca publishes article questioning celebrity involvement in the oil sands debate.
9/21/2015
Tags: civil society; celebrity;;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Bill Nye gets an aerial tour of the Alberta oil sands, calls the sight "depressive".
9/1/2015
Tags: celebrity; fort mcmurray; ;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Adbusters releases anti-Harper political ad online featuring dramatic oil sands footage.
9/1/2015
Tags: civil society; anti-oil sands; video; social media; advertising;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Aug 2015
-
Enbridge runs Life Takes Energy ads across Air Canada's in-flight TV screens. The airline faces relatively minor backlash from the public for playing Enbridge ads.
8/30/2015
Tags: industry; advertising; enbridge; life takes energy; air canada;;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Syncrude Canada releases time-lapsed video of rehabilitated oil sands land.
8/27/2015
Tags: industry; video; nature;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
The oil sands are discussed in first leaders debate of the 2015 election. All three opposition party leaders (NDP, Liberal, Green) denounce Prime Minister Harper's environmental record.
8/6/2015
Tags: government; environment;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Jul 2015
-
DeSmog Canada accuses 'grassroots', pro-oil sands organisation CanadaAction.ca of having "deep ties" to the Conservative Party and the oil industry.
7/29/2015
Tags: civil society; pro-oil sands; industry; ;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
A Nexen Energy pipeline fails south of Fort McMurray and results in an oil spill of over 5 million litres, making it one of the largest spills in Alberta's history.
7/15/2015
Tags: industry; oil spill; alberta; fort mcmurray;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Jun 2015
-
Ottawa folksinger Tony Turner releases "Harperman" protest song with lyrics "who says our future lies in oil sands / dirty plans, dirty tricks, dirty hands" - the song receives national attention and over half a million views on YouTube by September 2015.
6/22/2015
Tags: civil society; protest; parody; video; social media;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Tim Hortons faces backlash from oil sands supporters after removing Enbridge ads from its in-store TV screens. The hashtag #BoycottTims is circulated by Enbridge supporters on Twitter with Conservative consultant Stephen Taylor promoting the trend.
6/4/2015
Tags: social media;tim hortons;enbridge;civil society;industry;;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Tim Hortons pulls Enbridge ads from its TV screens after complaints from anti-pipeline customers.
6/4/2015
Tags: advertising; tim hortons; enbridge; civil society;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Canadian author Margaret Atwood warns her Twitter followers of Enbridge advertising: "Arg.... You’ll have to watch Enbridge’s slick tar sands ads next time you're in Tim Hortons" (@MargaretAtwood).
6/3/2015
Tags: celebrity; advertising; tim hortons; enbridge; civil society;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- May 2015
-
Criticism arises over heavy carbon emitters and fossil fuel firms sponsoring the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris.
5/29/2015
Tags: climate change; industry ;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Greenpeace posts video calling to put a stop to Enbridge pipeline.
5/24/2015
Tags: video; protest; enbridge; pipeline; social media;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Adbusters releases 15-second "Spill Harper" ad criticising the Canadian government for declaring Canada's beaches "clean" despite oil spills.
5/20/2015
Tags: civil society; advertising; oil spill; video; social media;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Enbridge announces a four-week advertising campaign across coffee chain Tim Horton's in-store TV screens. Activist movement SumOfUs.org reacts by petitioning to have the ads removed.
5/18/2015
Tags: advertising; tim hortons; enbridge; sumofus.org; civil society; industry;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Apr 2015
-
Blue Rodeo to join Neil Young at an "Honour the Treaties" benefit concert in Edmonton. The concert is ultimately postponed.
4/27/2015
Tags: celebrity; benefit concert;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Dec 2014
-
PeopleOfBurnabyMountain.com site is launched by Tar Sands Solutions to commemorate the Burnaby Mountain protest: "New, gorgeous visual site tells the story of why people gathered on #BurnabyMountain and how they defeated #BigOil" (@TarSandsSolns).
12/5/2014
Tags: protest; NGO; burnaby; BC; burnaby mountain; civil society;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
According to Desmog.ca, Enbridge runs advertorial in Vancouver Sun which is not labelled as such. Desmog.ca files a complaint to Advertising Standards Canada which is rejected. The advertorial has since been removed from VancouverSun.com.
12/4/2014
Tags: advertising; desmog.ca; vancouver sun; newspaper; advertising standards canada; advertorial; civil society; industry;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Nov 2014
-
BC judge rules that all civil contempt charges for protesters involved at Burnaby Mountain will not go ahead.
11/27/2014
Tags: protest; burnaby; BC; burnaby mountain; civil society;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Police break up a protest camp on Burnaby Mountain trying to stop Kinder Morgan's survey work for TransMountain pipeline.
11/20/2014
Tags: protest; burnaby; BC; burnaby mountain; RCMP; civil society;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Oct 2014
-
Council of Canadians starts its Energy East Atlantic Tour, visiting the region to lobby against TransCanada's proposed Energy East pipeline, which they see as "all risk and little reward for Atlantic Canada".
10/27/2014
Tags: NGO; council of canadians; energy east; atlantic Canada; civil society;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Sep 2014
-
"Harvest the Hope" benefit concert takes place at a farm near Neligh, Nebraska, lying directly in the path of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. Concert headliners include Willie Nelson and Neil Young.
9/27/2014
Tags: celebrity;civil society;keystone xl;pipeline;united states;benefit concert;;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Enbridge launches "Life Takes Energy" ad campaign. The online, print and television campaign aims to highlight "every day moments made possible by energy", according to Enbridge.
9/22/2014
Tags: advertising; campaign; life takes energy; enbridge; online ad campaign; tv ad campaign; print ad campaign; industry;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
The People's Climate March, a large scale activist event to advocate global action against climate change, takes place in New York City with an alleged 300,000 participants worldwide.
9/21/2014
Tags: celebrity; civil society; US; new york; climate change;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Filmmaker and Fort McMurray resident Tim Moen launches IndieGoGo fundraising campaign to make pro-oil sands, anti-Hollywood film called 'Tar Sands Messiah'. Moen's fundraising goal of $63,000 (at the date of this writing) has not been achieved.
9/19/2014
Tags: civil society; fort mcmurray; film; pro-oil sands;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Aug 2014
-
Suncor VP Mark and Little accepts Leonardo DiCaprio's ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.
8/27/2014
Tags: celebrity; social media; suncor;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Leonardo DiCaprio accepts ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, challenges Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Dave Collyer president of CAPP, Shell CEO Ben van Beurden, and Suncor VP Mark Little.
8/25/2014
Tags: celebrity; social media; suncor;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Leonardo DiCaprio visits Fort McMurray to work on four-part documentary about oil sands and the environment.
8/21/2014
Tags: celebrity; fort mcmurray; film;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Jun 2014
-
A four-day Healing Walk is held in Fort McMurray by Keepers of the Athabasca.
6/27/2014
Tags: fort mcmurray; first nations; healing walk; civil society;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
SumOfUs.org launches a parody website titled “See What Yes Is Doing” at WhatYesCanDo.org, a refutation of Suncor's campaign, “What Yes Can Do” (WhatYesCanDo.com).
6/24/2014
Tags: sumofus.org; suncor; parody; ad campaign; what yes can do; civil society;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Enbridge receives approval from the federal government to build the Northern Gateway Pipeline.
6/17/2014
Tags: northern gateway; government of canada; enbridge; pipeline;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Plains Midstream is charged $1.3 million in fines by the Alberta Government and Environment Canada for failing to respond effectively to the company's oil spills in 2011 and 2012.
6/3/2014
Tags: oil spill; government of alberta; environment canada;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- May 2014
-
South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu calls Canada's bitumen sands “filth” during a visit to Fort McMurray.
5/31/2014
Tags: celebrity; fort mcmurray; ;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
The Stand With Science campaign, conducted with Coastal First Nations, results in the World Wildlife Fund sending a letter to Stephen Harper with 20,000 signatures opposing the Northern Gateway pipeline.
5/26/2014
Tags: northern gateway; NGO; first nations; wwf; coastal first nations; stephen harper; pipeline; petition;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Council of Canadians releases a “candidate pledge” to oppose Energy East for Ontario election. Supporters are supposed to get their provincial candidates to sign it, and then send the signed pledge back to COC.
5/23/2014
Tags: council of canadians; ontario; provincial election; energy east; civil society; pipeline; ;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
"Defend Our Climate, Defend Our Communities" day of action, with events in communities across Canada.
5/10/2014
Tags: civil society; ;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Apr 2014
-
PressProgress denounces Kinder Morgan for suggesting in its application for the Trans Mountain Expansion Project that oil spills can "create jobs". The story is picked up by CBC's Power & Politics and MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show.
4/30/2014
Tags: civil society; industry; pipeline; oil spill;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Lakota First Nation holds three-day Moccasins on the Ground Direct Action Training in South Dakota for protests against Keystone XL.
4/25/2014
Tags: first nation; keystone XL; US; protest; civil society;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Council of Canadians starts two-week Energy East Ontario tour, visiting communities in the province to lobby against TransCanada's Energy East pipeline.
4/7/2014
Tags: energy east; ontario; civil society;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Mar 2014
-
CAPP runs an advertorial in the National Post. Desmog.ca alleges that it also ran in the Regina Leader Post, but says it was not marked as advertising.
3/7/2014
Tags: advertising; CAPP; newspaper; desmog.ca; industry ;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Jan 2014
-
Over 20 prominent Canadian celebrities sign letter supporting Neil Young and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation in their stance against bitumen sands expansion.
1/20/2014
Tags: celebrity; first nation; petition;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Canadian country-rock star Jim Cuddy "clarifies" Neil Young’s "Hiroshima" comment, saying that he supports Young and trusts his environmental expertise.
1/17/2014
Tags: celebrity; ;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
In response to celebrity Neil Young claiming Fort McMurray “looks like Hiroshima”, resident Theresa Wells starts the #MyHiroshima Twitter campaign to encourage people to post nature pictures of the area and show that Fort McMurray is “more than oil sands.”
1/15/2014
Tags: fort mcmurray; social media; civil society;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Dec 2013
-
Neil Young and Diana Krall launch a four-date benefit concert tour. Young says 100 per cent of ticket sales will be donated to Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation's legal defence fund.
12/9/2013
Tags: celebrity; benefit concert;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
SaveOurSkeenaSalmon.org rhyme ads run in papers around B.C., accompanied by an extensive postering campaign. The ads get more than 2000 shares online in first week (according to info provided by group representative Luanne Roth).
12/4/2013
Tags: BC; advertising; civil society; west coast; wildlife;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Nov 2013
-
U.K. Tar Sands Network stages “Felt Impacts of the Tar Sands” event at the Canada Europe Energy Summit in London, U.K. by displaying a giant, artistic representation of an oil spill in front of the steps of Canada House in Trafalgar Square.
11/19/2013
Tags: protest; demonstration; uk; oil spill; civil society;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
"Defend Our Climate, Defend Our Communities" event occurs in multiple cities across Canada to "build a united wall of opposition to pipelines".
11/16/2013
Tags: protest; pipeline; civil society;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Suncor launches WhatYesCanDo.com campaign site. Acknowledgement to possible backlash and parodies of the campaign are made in the company's initial blog post about the project.
11/13/2013
Tags: suncor; what yes can do; parody; advertising; ad campaign;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Oct 2013
-
Forest Ethics, Sierra Club, Climate Parents and Moms Clean Air Force run Tastes Like Tar Sands ads, targeting Pepsi and Coke, in USA Today. The ads direct readers to TastesLikeTarSands.org, which asks people to post photos of children to social media sites with #WhatAboutTomorrow hashtag.
10/23/2013
Tags: pepsi; coke; social media; tar sands; civil society;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Environmental Defence holds 'Rock the Line' concert in Toronto to rally against Enbridge's Line 9 pipeline. Performers include Sarah Harmer, Gord Downie & The Sadies, Hayden and Minotaurs.
10/6/2013
Tags: celebrity; protest; enbridge; concert; pipeline; civil society; benefit concert ;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Sep 2013
-
Robert Redford calls Alberta's oil “the dirtiest oil on the planet” in an anti-Keystone XL video released by NRDC.
9/16/2013
Tags: celebrity; keystone XL; pipeline;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Neil Young compares Fort McMurray to Hiroshima at a press conference held by the American National Farmers Union.
9/9/2013
Tags: celebrity; fort mcmurray;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
American billionaire Tom Steyer backs a four-part, $1 million advertising campaign warning that Keystone XL will undercut America's economy and hurt local communities.
9/8/2013
Tags: celebrity; keystone XL; ad campaign;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Jul 2013
-
"Keystone XL — Let’s Get It Done" ad campaign launched by TransCanada.
7/23/2013
Tags: advertising; radio ad campaign; online ad campaign; tv ad campaign; print ad campaign; transcanada; keystone XL; industry;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Healing Walk held in Fort McMurray by Keepers of the Athabasca.
7/6/2013
Tags: fort mcmurray; first nations; healing walk; civil society;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Jun 2013
-
President Obama gives a speech on climate change at Georgetown University, addressed Keystone XL pipeline. TransCanada says this speech inspired its upcoming "Keystone XL — Let’s Get It Done" ad campaign.
6/25/2013
Tags: obama; US; transcanada; climate change; pipeline; keystone XL; speech;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Great Plains Tar Sands Resistance direct-action lock-on blocks construction of Keystone XL in Seminole, OK.
6/24/2013
Tags: keystone XL; civil society; US; protest; lock-on;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
U.K. Tar Sands Network protesters greet Stephen Harper during U.K. visit. Actions include a re-creation of Brigette DePape’s 'Stop Harper' page protest.
6/13/2013
Tags: UK; protest; civil society;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Suncor posts first nature photos taken by Suncor employees for the 30x30 Nature Challenge, "inspired by the David Suzuki Foundation".
6/5/2013
Tags: suncor; nature; david suzuki;;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- May 2013
-
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. gives a speech at Mohawk College on the environment, criticising oil sands development.
5/24/2013
Tags: celebrity; speech; US;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Friends of the Earth Europe and U.K. Tar Sands Network stage protest for Environment Minister Peter Kent's visit to Brussels.
5/15/2013
Tags: UK; protest; demonstration; civil society;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Two members of Earth First!/Great Plains Tar Sands Resistance lock themselves to concrete filled barrels in an attempt to shut down a Keystone XL construction site.
5/14/2013
Tags: protest; demonstration; lock-on; US; keystone XL; ;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
The Government of Canada launches "Go With Canada" campaign site to inform U.S. decision makers and the U.S. public about Canada's role in supplying the United States with energy. Ads for the campaign also appear online, in print, and on transit billboards.
5/13/2013
Tags: government; advertising; ad campaign; online ad campaign; print ad campaign; billboard ad campaign; go with Canada; pipeline;;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Apr 2013
-
Two members of Great Plains Tar Sands Resistance engage in lock-on action to stop Keystone construction in Spaulding, OK.
4/29/2013
Tags: protest; demonstration; US; keystone XL; civil society; lock-on;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
The Walrus magazine hosts The Walrus Talks Energy panel, presented by Suncor, at the MaRS Discovery District in Toronto.
4/4/2013
Tags: industry; suncor; panel;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Mar 2013
-
Exxon’s Pegasus pipeline, which carried oil sands bitumen, bursts in Mayflower, AR.
3/29/2013
Tags: exxon; pipeline; US; oil spill; industry;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Tar Sands Blockade holds Week of Action to Stop Tar Sands Profiteers. Grassroots activists from over 50 organizations participate across the U.S. and Canada.
3/16/2013
Tags: protest; keystone XL; civil society;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Feb 2013
-
Forward on Climate rally occurs in Washington, D.C. Protesters urge President Barack Obama to take action against climate change and reject the Keystone XL pipeline.
2/17/2013
Tags: protest; US; keystone XL; obama; civil society;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., his son Connor Kennedy, actor Daryl Hannah, and others are arrested at White House anti-oil sands protest.
2/13/2013
Tags: celebrity; protest; civil society; ;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Youth pastor and lifelong Oklahoma resident Stefan Warner does lock-on action to stop Keystone XL construction near Schoolton, OK.
2/11/2013
Tags: protest; civil society; lock-on; US; keystone;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Jan 2013
-
Column denouncing Keystone XL titled “Another looming cliff of great consequence” written by actor Robert Redford is published by Reader Supported News.
1/4/2013
Tags: celebrity; keystone XL;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Oct 2012
-
Defend Our Coast holds a B.C.-wide day of action to protest pipeline expansion.
10/24/2012
Tags: BC; protest; civil society; west coast;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Defend Our Coast demonstration occurs in Victoria, B.C.. A reported 5,000 people gather on the Legislature Lawns in front of Victoria's parliament buildings to protest pipeline development.
10/22/2012
Tags: BC; protest; civil society; west coast;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Greenpeace releases a list of celebrities endorsing the upcoming Defend Our Coast protest in Victoria, B.C., including: Mark Ruffalo, Daryl Hannah, Michael Moore, Ellen Page, Pamela Anderson, Peter Keleghan, Tantoo Cardinal, Dan Mangan, Mia Kirshner, Amanda Tapping, Mackenzie Phillips.
10/16/2012
Tags: Celebrity; civil society; BC; west coast;;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Actress Daryl Hannah and a 78-year-old landowner are arrested for trespassing on landowner’s own farm, in attempt to block Keystone construction.
10/4/2012
Tags: Celebrity; civil society; Keystone XL; US;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Jul 2012
-
Ethical Oil holds “OPEC Lobbyist of the Year Awards” protest in front of Saudi Embassy in Ottawa. Awards given to: Environmental Defence Executive Director Rick Smith, Rahool Agarwal, lawyer employed by Saudi Arabia, and National Energy Board Vice-Chair Sheila Leggett.
7/3/2012
Tags: civil society; ethical oil; industry;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Jun 2012
-
Dan Murphy, editorial cartoonist at The Province, publishes an animated video parodying a recent Enbridge ad for the Northern Gateway pipeline. The parody is removed several hours later at the request of Enbridge.
6/22/2012
Tags: parody; civil society; northern gateway; pipeline; enbridge;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
A Plains Midstream pipeline spills almost half a million litres of oil into a creek that flows into the Red Deer River.
6/7/2012
Tags: oil spill; alberta;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Black Out Speak Out, a campaign against environmental aspects of federal budget, starts today. According to the official media release, full-page ads for the event circulated in newspapers The Globe and Mail, La Presse and Ottawa’s Hill Times.
6/4/2012
Tags: civil society; government; newspapers; advertising; protest;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- May 2012
-
In protest to the Northern Gateway ad campaign, Greenpeace Canada unfurls a massive banner over the Lions Gate bridge in Vancouver, B.C..
5/29/2012
Tags: greenpeace; BC; protest; civil society; northern gateway; pipeline;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Enbridge launches multimillion dollar newspaper, TV and online ad campaign for the Northern Gateway pipeline with slogan: "It’s more than a pipeline. It’s a path to our future."
5/29/2012
Tags: advertising; ad campaign; online ad campaign; print ad campaign; TV ad campaign; enbridge; northern gateway; pipeline; industry; enbridge;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Enbridge VP responds to celebrity opposition
5/12/2012
Tags: 0;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
International Stop the Tar Sands Day event is held by U.K. Tar Sands Network, 350.org and Lush Oxford.
5/5/2012
Tags: protest; US; UK; civil society;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Canadian hockey star Scott Niedermayer becomes spokesman for the World Wildlife Fund's "Canadians for the Great Bear" campaign to oppose Enbridge Inc.’s proposed Northern Gateway project.
5/1/2012
Tags: celebrity; civil society; wwf; coastal first nations; northern gateway; pipeline;;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Mar 2012
-
International Tar Sands Vigil event is held in London in front of Canada High Commission.
3/7/2012
Tags: UK; protest; civil society;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Feb 2012
-
The EU vote to label oil sands oil as “highly polluting” ends in stalemate.
2/23/2012
Tags: EU; pollution;;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Jan 2012
-
Suncor's "Oil Sands Questions and Responses" blog publishes a piece about celebrity involvement in the energy debate.
1/18/2012
Tags: celebrity; industry; suncor; blog;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Minister of Natural Resources Joe Oliver calls environmental groups opposed to the Northern Gateway Pipeline "radicals", claiming they seek to block Canada's opportunities for trade with their "radical ideological agenda."
1/9/2012
Tags: northern gateway; government of canada; pipeline;;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Nov 2011
-
Minister of Natural Resources Joe Oliver reacts to “celebrity protesters” fighting the Keystone pipeline, claiming the celebrities are "not considering the facts of the issue". This is “the first public indication that the protests are getting under Ottawa's skin,” says Reuters.
11/23/2011
Tags: celebrity; government; keystone XL;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Four days after the November 6 protest, President Obama sends Keystone XL back for a full 18-month re-review.
11/10/2011
Tags: government; keystone XL;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Several thousand people gather outside the White House to block the Keystone XL project.
11/6/2011
Tags: civil society; white house protest; US; keystone XL; protest; demonstration;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Tar Sands Action releases video by actor and comedian Julia Louis-Dreyfus calling for block of Keystone XL.
11/3/2011
Tags: celebrity; civil society; keystone XL; tar sands action; social media;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Oct 2011
-
Robert Redford issues video release supporting Tar Sands Action's demonstration at White House on November 6.
10/31/2011
Tags: celebrity; tar sands action; white house protest; civil society;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Actor David Strathairn issues video release supporting Tar Sands Action's Tar Sands Action's November 6 demonstration at White House.
10/25/2011
Tags: celebrity; keystone XL; civil society; tar sands action; white house protest;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Actor Mark Ruffalo issues video release supporting Tar Sands Action's November 6 demonstration at White House. Specifically, he calls for Occupy Wall Street protesters to support it.
10/24/2011
Tags: celebrity; keystone XL; civil society; tar sands action; white house protest;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Robert Redford issues a video plea, via New York Times, for U.S. President Obama to reject Keystone.
10/18/2011
Tags: celebrity; keystone XL; obama;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Sep 2011
-
In response to Ottawa Action, Conservative MP Jason Kenney calls the protesters "extremists" in a post from his Twitter account.
9/26/2011
Tags: government; social media; ottawa action; ;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Ottawa Action protest (Canadian version of Tar Sands Action's Washington protest from the previous month) takes place on Parliament Hill. Some Canadian celebrities claimed to support the cause, though none seem to have attended. The protest ends in 117 arrests.
9/26/2011
Tags: civil society; celebrity; parliament hill; protest; keystone XL;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Robert Redford pens op-ed against Keystone in Huffington Post.
9/24/2011
Tags: celebrity; keystone XL;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Al Gore blogs in support of anti-oil sands movement.
9/7/2011
Tags: celebrity;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Last day of Tar Sands Action's Washington protest. Author Naomi Klein denounces the term "ethical oil" as "an outrage and an insult" in her protest speech.
9/3/2011
Tags: Celebrity; Civil society;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Aug 2011
-
Al Gore expresses support for Tar Sands Action's White House protest.
8/31/2011
Tags: celebrity; white house protest;;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Celebrity Darryl Hannah is arrested at Tar Sands Action protest in Washington.
8/30/2011
Tags: celebrity; white house protest; arrest;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Ethical Oil stages protest in front of Lush store in Ottawa against the company's anti-oil sands stance. The protest features two women in niqabs pointing out that Lush does business in Saudi Arabia while condemning oil sands.
8/24/2011
Tags: ethical oil; lush; protest; saudi arabia; civil society; arrest;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Actors Margot Kidder and Tantoo Cardinal are arrested at White House protest in Washington. Earlier that day, 350.org and Tar Sands Action issued a press release saying the actors would be "featured" at the protest.
8/23/2011
Tags: celebrity; civil society; arrest; white house protest; protest; tar sands action;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
First day of Tar Sands Action's 15-day protest at the White House in Washington. Organisers target President Obama as the focus of the action, using his own campaign slogans against him to protest the Keystone XL pipeline.
8/20/2011
Tags: tar sands action; protest; obama; keystone XL; US; civil society;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Musician Thom Yorke mentions Tar Sands Action's upcoming Washington protest on Radiohead.com.
8/11/2011
Tags: celebrity; tar sands action; white house protest; ;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Actor Mark Ruffalo issues a message of support for Tar Sands Action's upcoming pipeline protest in Washington, D.C. - the first in a long string of celebrity announcements made by Tar Sands Action.
8/10/2011
Tags: Celebrity; tar sands action; white house protest; civil society;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Jul 2011
-
Suncor responds to Daily Show host Jon Stewart's oil sands episode in a blog post.
7/6/2011
Tags: Suncor; industry;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Jun 2011
-
Satirist Jon Stewart takes aim at Alberta's oil sands.
6/9/2011
Tags: celebrity; satire;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- May 2011
-
Over 500 First Nations and citizens protest Enbridge pipeline in Prince Rupert, B.C.
5/13/2011
Tags: first nation; enbridge; pipeline; BC; protest; civil society;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Green-funding investigator Vivian Krause lists anti-oil sands groups that received funding from Tides Canada.
5/5/2011
Tags: tides canada; civil society;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Apr 2011
-
A Plains Midstream pipeline spills 4.5 million litres of crude oil near the First Nations community of Little Buffalo in Alberta. The oil contaminates a densely forested area populated with wildlife.
4/29/2011
Tags: oil spill; first nation; alberta; wildlife;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Suncor posts "International Stop the Tar Sands Day: Five suggestions for making it better".
4/27/2011
Tags: suncor; industry; international stop the tar sands day;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
U.K. Tar Sands Network and Indigenous Environmental Network stage a week long Tar Sands Tour in U.K.
4/12/2011
Tags: UK; UK tar sands network; first nation; ;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Mar 2011
-
U.K. Tar Sands Network protests the launch of RBS-sponsored Climate Week, claiming RBS "is the UK bank most heavily involved in financing the fossil fuel industry".
3/21/2011
Tags: UK; RBS; climate week; civil society; protest;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
An advertisement paid for by the Alberta Government appears in The European Voice, claiming that “Alberta embraces the EU’s decarbonisation efforts, including the intent of the Fuel Quality Directive”.
3/17/2011
Tags: government; alberta; EU; advertising;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Lush stages U.K.-wide anti-oil sands protests at its stores: "In the window of the shops a staff member stood in a barrel, was draped with the Canadian flag and covered with molasses to represent oil."
3/3/2011
Tags: UK; company; protest;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Oct 2010
-
A "Zombie Duck Rally" is organised by the Sierra Club in Edmonton to protest the deaths of hundreds of ducks in oil sands tailings ponds.
10/30/2010
Tags: protest; civil society; tailings pond; alberta;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
After 6 weeks in New York, the Government of Alberta launches its "Tell It Like It Is" campaign at Piccadilly Circus in London, UK.
10/15/2010
Tags: UK; alberta; government; advertising; billboard ad; ad campaign ;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Financial Post runs a column questioning the legitimacy of the American Tides Foundation funding Canadian environmental groups fighting the oil sands.
10/15/2010
Tags: 0;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Sep 2010
-
Hollywood director James Cameron visits Alberta for a three-day tour of oil sands sites.
9/27/2010
Tags: celebrity; alberta; ;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Pond 1 tailings pond officially becomes Wapisiw Lookout, with Suncor "becoming the first and only oil sands company to complete surface reclamation of a tailings pond, a key step in returning the site back to nature."
9/23/2010
Tags: tailings pond; suncor; industry; ;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Protest against Enbridge pipeline proposal is held in Prince George, B.C.
9/8/2010
Tags: protest; enbridge; civil society; pipeline;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Government of Alberta sends its "Tell It Like It Is" campaign to New York by purchasing space on an electronic billboard in Times Square. The ad runs three times each hour for six weeks.
9/1/2010
Tags: government; advertising; ad campaign; billboard ad; US; new york; alberta;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Jul 2010
-
In response to the "Rethink Alberta" campaign, Premier Ed Stelmach says the province of Alberta will invest in more advertising to fight back on what he calls a "campaign of misinformation".
7/27/2010
Tags: PR; alberta; government; ;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Several "Rethink Alberta" ads are pulled in response to complaints about inaccuracy.
7/16/2010
Tags: civil society; ad campaign; alberta; advertising;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Corporate Ethics International and partners launch "Rethink Alberta" billboard campaign in US and UK discouraging tourists from visiting Alberta with slogan, "Thinking of visiting Alberta, Canada? Think again."
7/14/2010
Tags: civil society; alberta; ad campaign; advertising;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Government of Alberta runs an advertisement designed like a letter from Premier Ed Stelmach in The Washington Post. According to Climate Action Network, it was initially written to The Washington Post as a letter to the editor, but was rejected, so the government bought ad space to run it instead. It includes the slogan that would be used in the government's series of billboard ads: "A good neighbour lends you a cup of sugar. A great neighbour supplies you with 1.4 million barrels of oil per day."
7/2/2010
Tags: government; advertising; alberta; newspaper;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Jun 2010
-
First International Stop the Tar Sands Day is held with events across the globe, including in Berlin, London (UK), Copenhagen, and London (ON).
6/17/2010
Tags: civil society; protest; ;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Lush launches a two-week protest against the tar sands, turning its 44 stores across Canada into campaign centres to raise awareness for the cause.
6/7/2010
Tags: company; protest;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Mar 2010
-
ForestEthics and other organisations run an ad in the Globe and Mail recalling the Exxon Valdez oil spill.
3/22/2010
Tags: civil society; advertising; newspaper; canada; oil spill;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Meeting held with CAPP calls for the organisation to “[up] its game" in responding to critcism from other countries and in promoting "oil sands outreach" as part of a renewed strategy.
3/16/2010
Tags: industry; CAPP;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
CAPP responds to "Avatar Sands" ad on the same day of its publication, inviting the activists responsible to come "back to planet Earth".
3/4/2010
Tags: industry; CAPP; celebrity; ;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Muliple environmental groups sponsor an ad likening Canada's oil sands to the ravaged planet in the film Avatar. The "Avatar Sands" ad runs in Variety magazine.
3/4/2010
Tags: Civil Society; celebrity; advertising; magazine;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Dec 2009
-
Climate negotiations open in Copenhagen. Corresponding demonstrations occur at Parliament Hill with Greenpeace activists scaling Parliament buildings.
12/7/2009
Tags: civil society; protest; ottawa; ;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Oct 2009
-
Activists with Rainforest Action Network protest outside the newly opened RBC Centre in Toronto. The building was awarded LEED Gold environmental certification for its "sustainable" design, but the protesters argue RBC's funding of the oil sands contributes to environmental harm. Two activists sneak into the reception and distribute pamphlets before security escorts them out.
10/2/2009
Tags: protest; toronto; oil sands; rbc;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Sep 2009
-
Greenpeace protests at oilsands operations in Alberta include shutting down two conveyor-belts and floating a banner on the Athabasca river.
9/30/2009
Tags: civil society; protest; alberta;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Greenpeace protests at oilsands operations commence with truck blocking action and banner hangings.
9/15/2009
Tags: civil society; protest; alberta;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Jul 2009
-
The unfurling of the "Please Help Us, Mrs. Nixon" banner in front of RBC's headquarters is accompanied with an online message from the Rainforest Action Network to Janet Nixon.
7/28/2009
Tags: protest; video; rbc;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Members of Rainforest Action Network make an appeal to Janet Nixon, wife of RBC's CEO Gordon Nixon, by hanging a banner across the flagpoles in front of the RBC Centre. The protesters want Janet Nixon's help in stopping RBC's funding of Alberta's oil sands.
7/28/2009
Tags: protest; toronto; oil sands; rbc;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Jun 2009
-
Five activists disrupt a presentation by RBC's Director of Corporate Environmental Affairs at the "Investing in Water" conference at the University of Toronto. The protesters ask how RBC can support clean water initiatives but simultaneously fund the Alberta oil sands.
6/2/2009
Tags: protest; toronto; oil sands; rbc;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- May 2009
-
Syncrude Canada president Tom Katinas admits that 1,606 ducks and not the 500 originally estimated died in one of the company's tailings ponds in the spring of 2008.
5/31/2009
Tags: industry; oil spill; alberta; taillings pond; wildlife;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Feb 2009
-
NGO ForestEthics runs a full page ad in USA Today pleading for President Obama to rethink America's energy strategy.
2/17/2009
Tags: NGO; civil society; Advertising; newspaper;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Syncrude is charged for duck deaths at Fort McMurray tailings pond.
2/9/2009
Tags: industry; oil spill; alberta; taillings pond; wildlife;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Oct 2008
-
Canadian actress Neve Campbell tours oil sands sites on invitation of environmental organisation ForestEthics.
10/8/2008
Tags: celebrity;;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Aug 2008
-
UK’s Advertising Standards Authority upholds complaint from WWF, ruling that a Shell ad in the Financial Times “misled” the public by claiming oil-sands project was a “sustainable energy source”.
8/13/2008
Tags: industry; civil society; advertising; newspaper;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Jul 2008
-
Greenpeace activits erect a sign at the mouth of one of Syncrude’s tailings waste pipes, declaring the operations to be the "world’s dirtiest oil".
7/23/2008
Tags: protest; civil society; ;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Jun 2008
-
Greenpeace creates mock website satirising Alberta’s new tourism campaign and underscoring the environmental effects of the tar sands.
6/26/2008
Tags: civil society; online; parody; alberta;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Apr 2008
-
Initial reports suggest 500 migratory ducks die after landing in a Syncrude tailings pond.
4/28/2008
Tags: industry; wildlife; taillings pond;;
Relevant URL: For details click here
-
Greenpeace unfurls a banner at a fundraising dinner for Alberta Premier Stelmach which reads, "$telmach: the best premier oil money can buy."
4/24/2008
Tags: civil society; government; alberta; protest ;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Oct 2007
-
Albertan country singer Corb Lund releases music video for his song, "Roughest Neck Around", about the life of an oil field worker. By 2015, the video will receive over 1 million views. Filmed in Devon, Alta.
10/10/2007
Tags: civil society; video;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- May 2007
-
WWF’s Alex Hartridge and Jiri Rezac go to Alberta’s oil sands region "to witness the human and ecological impact of the world's latest oil boom."
5/10/2007
Tags: civil society; ;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Jul 2006
-
The Alberta government's partnership with the Smithsonian gets the attention of activists who protest the exhibit in Washington.
7/6/2006
Tags: government; alberta; US; protest; civil society;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Jun 2006
-
The Province of Alberta participates in the Smithsonian Institution’s “Folklife Festival”, on the National Mall, Washington, D.C. This includes a giant oil sands dump truck parked on the mall and bitumen sandboxes. According to the Globe and Mail, this is part of a “$3.8-million publicity push by Alberta in the U.S. capital."
6/26/2006
Tags: government; alberta; US;
Relevant URL: For details click here
- Nov 2004
-
Alberta opens its office inside the Canadian embassy in Washington "to advance the province's economic and policy interests and to help expand Alberta's contacts with top American decision makers."
11/16/2004
Tags: government; alberta; US;
Relevant URL: For details click here
