William Gagnon

William Gagnon is a green buildings and decarbonization expert; he holds a building engineering degree, a graduate certificate in Sustainable Carbon Management, a Climate Fellowship from Cornell University and has been named a “Top 30 Under 30 Sustainability Leader” by Corporate Knights Magazine.

He works as an economic development officer and changemaker for the acceleration of circular economy strategies and green jobs in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.

William has been involved with the Green Party since 2015 when he was the Leader of the Concordia University Young Greens. He held a term on the Young Greens Council (2016-2017) and then joined Federal Council (2017-2019). He moved to Yellowknife and ran for nomination in the 2019 election. William has experience managing and leading campaigns; he was also part of the GPC delegation to COP25.

William is a board member for the Northern Council for Global Cooperation, promoting the Sustainable Development Goals across the three Territories. One of the most defining moments of his life include a Decolonization Workshop with Dr. Leanne Betasamosake Simpson: William strongly believes that decolonization is capacity-building for climate action.

In recent years, William has spoken about green buildings, innovation and decarbonization and has shared his ecoanxiety story at conferences in Whitehorse, Yellowknife, Montreal, Seattle, Anchorage, Spain, China, the Netherlands, Sweden and Norway. He lives, works and plays on Chief Drygeese Territory of the Yellowknives Dene; he is an advocate for LGBTQ2+, and eats happy meat, once in a while. William is a carbon-neutral individual.