This project explores how community hubs such as community centres, neighbourhood organizations, and frontline service nonprofit can catalyze equitable climate action across Canadian cities. Working with the Toronto Environmental Alliance (TEA), a leading nonprofit advocating for a green, healthy, and equitable Toronto, the research builds on TEA’s seven years of work examining the role of community hubs in climate action. 

Community hubs serve hundreds of thousands of people each week through programs supporting children, youth, seniors, newcomers, and economically marginalized residents. Yet their potential role in advancing climate solutions remains underexplored. This project will investigate how climate initiatives are currently integrated into hub programming across Canada and how these spaces can help scale community-led climate action. By leveraging hubs’ deep local relationships, the research aims to identify pathways for empowering marginalized communities to participate in—and benefit from—the transition to a resilient and net-zero future.