Covering Climate Elections: Lessons From British Columbia’s 2024 Election and Beyond

Authors: Morgan Krakow, Tara Mahoney

Elections shape the future of climate policy, offering a critical opportunity to highlight the urgency of the crisis and its connections to issues like affordability, health, and the economy. Yet, our analysis of media coverage during the 2024 B.C. Provincial Election found that major broadcast news outlets largely overlooked climate change, despite extensive reporting on party platforms, candidate profiles, and polling trends.

To assess how climate was covered, we recruited 31 volunteers to monitor prominent radio and television news programs across British Columbia from October 7 to November 1, 2024. The findings from this study not only reveal patterns in election reporting but also provide key takeaways for improving climate journalism in future elections—most urgently, the 2025 Canadian federal election.

Our report outlines 10 actionable recommendations for strengthening climate coverage during elections and includes practical tools and resources for journalists looking to improve climate reporting year-round.