At Surfrider Canada, we drive our mission through direct action campaigns.

Campaigns have the goal of attaining a victory, which is a decision made by a governing body or person to positively benefit the coast and/or ocean. Victories are our metric of success. In the past decade, Surfrider Foundation has achieved over 400 victories for the protection of the ocean and coasts!

Surfrider South Vancouver Island Victories

Straws Suck

Surfrider South Vancouver Island launched the Straws Suck Campaign in January of 2018, which supported restaurants and bars in eliminating single-use plastic straws as well as generating awareness among the public. This campaign became a victory through the federal announcement on a ban on six type of single-use plastics, which includes plastic straws, in June of 2022. This ban is expected to come into force in the winter of 2022/2023.

Ban the Bag

Surfrider South Vancouver Island launched a campaign to end the use of single-use plastic checkout bags in Victoria and the surrounding municipalities. Surfrider SVI has been a leader in the movement to eradicate this form of single-use plastic, and in 2018 this movement was successful, with the City of Victoria banning plastic bags. Following this, the B.C. Court of Appeal’s decided to overturn the City of Victoria’s plastic bag ban.