March 2021 - Year of the Garden 2022 News

The Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians have officially endorsed the designation of 2022 as Canada’s Year of the Garden. Their president, Dorothy Dobbie, has sent a letter to the Prime Minister, to support the designation of 2022 as Canada’s Year of the Garden.

Meeting with the Ministers

We have filed a meeting request with the following Ministers to present the Year of the Garden 2022 and see how we can collaborate to ensure a true success for Canada’s Garden-Family:

• Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, Ministry of Agriculture and Agri-food;
• Minister Steven Guilbeault, Canadian Heritage
• Minister Jonathon Wilkinson, Minister of Environment and Climate Change

Also, happy to inform you that the Bloc Québecois caucus has endorsed our proposal to designate 2022 the Year of the Garden.

If you do and have not yet expressed it to your local Member of Parliament, please do it now and cc the Canadian Garden Council. Click for a sample letter.

We are still getting letters of support. More quotes from these letters:

“We believe that the Year of the Garden 2022 will help educate and inspire Canadians to engage with gardens, plants and nature, thereby improving health, quality of life, economic and environmental impact. positive they provide.” - Pierre Blain, Chief Executive Officer, Federation of Quebec Horticultural and Ecological Societies

“As a member of Canada’s Garden Family, we ask you to urge the federal government to approve and support this unique initiative and proclaim 2022 the Year of the Garden in Canada for the benefit of all Canadian women and men.” - Donna Goodridge, Professor, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan

“It would go a long way in encouraging how the daily actions of Canadians can collectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help Canada meet its climate targets.” – Elizabeth McRae, Chief Administrative Officer, Alliance of Natural History Museums of Canada

“As the world has endured the COVID-19 pandemic, we have again been reminded of the value of nature and outdoor spaces. Gardens have served to remind us of our connection to nature by providing us with both beauty and sustenance. I sincerely hope this renewed interest in gardens and outdoor spaces we have seen carries beyond the pandemic, and The Year of the Garden 2022 is a wonderful initiative to ensure that happens. ”- Andy Fillmore, Member of Parliament, Halifax

“Arthur Horticulture Society is a small Society of mostly older retired people’ who are gardening nuts. We plant and look after 11 street pots and five large community flower gardens. We think that the Year of the Garden would certainly highlight what we are doing in Arthur. So, our general thought is GO FOR IT.” - Marilyn Theurer, Secretary, Arthur Horticulture Society

“We need to educate and inspire Canadians of all ages to include gardens and gardening in their lives. Increased participation in gardening and gardening activities during the Year of the Garden will create a vital legacy to foster a healthy and sustainable future for Canada. ”- Raquel Penalosa, Landscape Architect

“Proclaiming 2022 the Year of the Garden is an excellent way to acknowledge both the importance of the garden sector and to bring attention to the environmental health of our country.’’ – Nick McCarthy, Director, Marketing, Communications and Community outreach, Beechwood Cemetery

“As Canada emerges from the global pandemic, the 2022 celebration of the ‘Year of the Garden’ will be an important opportunity to build on this momentum and celebrate the public garden as not only a place of beauty, but one of renewal for all people.” - Dave Cowen, CEO, The Butchart Gardens

“Canada’s Accredited Zoos and Aquariums (CAZA) is pleased to extend our support for the Canadian Garden Council’s efforts to have 2022 designated as the Year of the Garden. Gardens play an important role in creating a safe place to bring people together and connect us to the natural world. This initiative would be a vital community catalyst for greater learning, exploration, and connection for Canadians of all ages.” - Jim Facette, Executive Director, Canada’s Accredited Zoos and Aquariums

“You may have been hearing about a brilliant plan by our friends at the Garden Council of Canada to have 2022 declared the Year of the Garden in Canada. We at the Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians (CAFP) would like to heartily endorse this plan. Former Parliamentarians recognize that while we have a healthy oppositional role with each other in government, we all have the same goals at the end of the day. Issues that can bind us together will reinforce our democracy and strengthen our nation.” - Dorothy Dobbie, President, Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians

“Communities in Bloom’s vision is to inspire all communities to enhance the quality of life and our environment through people and plants in order to create community pride. The Canadian Garden Council’s proposal for the Year of the Garden 2022 will help us to achieve this vision, promoting garden experiences in municipalities across Canada in 2022 and beyond.” - National Chair – Communities in Bloom, Paul Brydges, Principal - Brydges Landscape Architecture Inc.

Interested in joining Scotts Canada, Premier Tech and Proven Winners as Founding Partners of the Year of the Garden 2022?