From June 1st, 2026, to June 4th, 2026, I had the pleasure of attending and presenting at the 76th annual meeting of the Canadian Association of Geographers (CAG) at the University of Victoria in beautiful British Columbia. CAG represents geographers across the country with the goal of “strengthening the discipline of geography through research dissemination, educational advancement, professional recognition and national and international collaboration.” I found CAG to be a really great conference environment for networking, project exploration and sparking new ideas, especially as a student in the early stages of my project. This year's meeting promoted the theme of resilience and specifically the importance of resilience in the face of climate change across all the various disciplines in geography.
Over the course of four days, researchers from all Geography disciplines presented their work through presentations, workshops, panels and poster sessions to fellow members of the field. One great thing about CAG is the immense diversity of research. While exploring different sessions, I found myself finding research aligned with my interests in sessions I would not have even thought to attend.
On the first day of the conference, I took part in a walking tour of the area around the University of Victoria, travelling from high ground to sea on a hike up Tolmie Mountain and back down through campus to Carboro Bay. It was a lovely day at 25℃ and with clear skies, allowing us to see across the landscape to the beautiful Pacific Ocean and mountain ranges.
Later that evening, I attended a film session entitled “The K’ëgit Totem Pole: Restoring Witsuwit’en Relations and Restorying the Musée du Quai Branly,” which explored the results of the K’ëgit totem pole project at York University. The project set out to reconnect Indigenous groups with their stolen, bought or transferred cultural artifacts. This documentary followed the story of the K’ëgit Totem Pole and the work that brought members of the Witsuwit’en community to Paris, France, to visit the K’ëgit totem pole taken from their community in 1938. This presentation was both enlightening and touching, and I felt very grateful to listen to the stories of those who also attended the conference from the Witsuwit’en community.
Throughout the conference, I had the opportunity to attend countless sessions as well as present my own project proposal entitled “‘The Green Spine’: building post-disaster and climate resilience through the implementation of nature-based solutions in Christchurch, NZ” and a panel presentation with my colleagues from the Retreating from Risk Project, Brent Doberstein, Ben Cross and Melissa Le Geyt entitled “Managed retreat: decisions and visions for climate resilient Canadian communities.” I found the CAG community very supportive and welcoming, and many members in attendance showed strong interest in my project and offered questions and advice regarding my upcoming research.
The conference sessions wrapped up with a final plenary session by Dr. Deborah McGregor that explored our relationship with the natural world and how indigenous traditions, perspectives, and principles can contribute to and improve climate transitions. Dr. McGregor spoke beautifully, and her stories left me with new perspectives on climate action and a feeling of hope for the future.
The conference also allowed me the opportunity to explore the beautiful city of Victoria. From beautiful parks to city bites and coastal views, there was so much I was able to take part in thanks to this conference opportunity. One major highlight from my trip was a whale watching tour in the Juan de Fuca Strait, which was organized by the conference as an optional field trip. We spent some time watching a mom and calf humpback whale travel through the area and then made our way to Race Rocks Islands, where we found many seals, sea lions and even an elephant seal lounging about. Additionally, a connection made with a McGill researcher attending the conference allowed me to join a tour of Downtown Victoria and its many alleyways, including the famous Fan Tan Alley (known as the narrowest business street in Canada), led by her father, who has lived in the area for most of his life.
I had a lovely week at CAG 2026 and visiting Victoria, and feel very excited to explore more of our country's beautiful cities and join in on another CAG meeting in the near future.
