Richard Cannings – MP South Okanagan-West Kootenay

Mr. Cannings is the recipient of the Forest Community Champion Award for his work in tabling and advancing Bill C-354, a private member’s bill that would require the federal government to consider the use of wood in federal infrastructure projects, taking into account the associated costs and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by using wood products.

Richard Cannings is a renowned biologist who has authored a dozen award winning books on the natural history of British Columbia. He was elected in 2015 as Member of Parliament for South Okanagan-West Kootenay. Mr. Cannings served for more than a decade on BC’s Environmental Appeal Board and eight years as co-chair on the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Prior to being elected, he served as a director on the board of the Nature Conservancy of Canada and worked with Bird Studies Canada, coordinating surveys on the status of Canada’s bird populations. Cannings was named BC’s Biologist of the Year by the Association of Professional Biologists in 1996. In 2008, he was named an Honourary Fellow at Okanagan College.