Editor’s note: This story appeared in the April edition of the South Cowichan Connector, a publication for and about the South Cowichan Valley. Look for our May edition starting May 2.
From planting trees in the wilds of British Columbia to planting seeds in Ottawa for a better tomorrow.
Cowichan-Malahat-Langford MP Alistair MacGregor was born in Victoria but travelled the world at a young age before finding himself on the path where he could make a world of difference.
MacGregor’s travels started at the age of three, just four weeks after his brother was born, when his father was posted at the Canadian military base in Lahr, West Germany from 1982 to 85 during the renewed tensions of the Cold War. After MacGregor senior was honourably discharged, the family lived in Ottawa for a few years before globetrotting to Israel where MacGregor’s dad accepted an ophthalmologist position at St. John Eye Hospital. Upon returning to Canada, the family spent a year in Nova Scotia before realizing the West Coast was calling them back home.
“I had my ninth birthday and attended Grade 3 in Israel; we actually lived right on the grounds of the hospital,” said MacGregor. “There is so much history there. I got to go to the old city of Jerusalem, and also saw Jericho and Bethlehem. I’ve also been to the famous fortress of Masada, the Sea of Galilee, and Tel Aviv. There are so many beautiful places there that are really steeped in history. It’s a pretty amazing country, and I really treasure my memories from that time.
”I’ve now called the Cowichan area my home for over 30 years, and am very proud to be raising my three daughters here.”
MacGregor has 11-year-old twins Arya and Anabelle, and Isla who is now six. Before becoming a family man, and transitioning to office life MacGregor worked a lot with his hands and held an array of blue-collar jobs including working as a farm labourer, and at a saw shop but what sticks out the most for him is his years of tree planting.
“I spent eight years as a tree planter which helped pay my way through university,” said MacGregor. “My summers were spent out in the wilds of B.C. doing some pretty back breaking labour with 60 lbs. of trees on my hips climbing up all sorts of obstacles and mountains. I have a lot of fond memories of this job, and I would say it was very character building. It’s a very repetitive job and you are going to face all kinds of hurdles, and elements. There are all kinds of wildlife and the bugs are already there — it’s a bit of mental fortitude to get through that kind of work.”
In 2007, MacGregor transitioned from working with his hands, to lending a helping one when he began doing case work for former NDP MP Jean Crowder, and served under her until her retirement in 2015.
“My role was to intervene on behalf of constituents who were having problems with the federal government,” said MacGregor. “This may have included their taxes, pensions or even Veteran Affairs. Sitting across the table from people who had nowhere else to go really allowed me to see how policies and legislation being developed in Ottawa were affecting people on the ground here. It was during those years that I came to understand the problems that many people in my community were facing.”
It was in 2013 while taking a gap year and visiting his in-laws in Tasmania, Australia that MacGregor’s wife Amy gave him the nudge to enter politics. Taking her sage advice MacGregor went for the NDP nomination and won against five others and became the Cowichan-Malahat-Langford NDP MP in October, 2015. MacGregor represents residents in this riding in a myriad of ways including bringing issues directly to the floor of the House of Commons, presenting petitions, and participating in debate as well as contacting ministers on community members’ behalf.
“It’s really basic level, it’s about representing people’s interests and concerns in Ottawa, and bringing information back to them about what is happening there so that they can make informed decisions,” said MacGregor. “This year will be my ninth anniversary, so it’s been quite the journey.”
Throughout this journey, MacGregor has accomplished a lot. Something that stands out for him is the spotlight he shone on some of the companies that the Canada Pension Plan were previously investing their funds into that were known for having very poor environmental, labour, and human rights track records.
“I think everyone would agree that we don’t want our pension funds causing human misery around the world,” said MacGregor. “I brought in a bill to stop the Canada Pension Plan from investing in those types of corporate entities. While the bill was ultimately voted down, I measured its success in the fact that shortly after that attention was put on the CPP, we noticed a quiet withdrawal of funds from some of those problematic companies.”
Another was his commitment to looking at the root causes of food price inflation which he says has climbed at a much higher rate than general inflation over the last few years.
“That’s been a really hot topic, and one that has a great amount of concern for residents locally,” said MacGregor. “I’ve heard first-hand accounts from people in our community who are not only affected with the quantity of food they can buy with high food prices but also the quality. It’s a real visceral thing because you can not only see the prices increase, but in some cases people have had to deal with shrinkflation, so they are not only paying more but they are getting less. I brought in a motion back in 2022 which was unanimously adopted by the committee, through the course of our study we brought in major CEOs of all the grocery retail chains. The increased political and public focus on this issue has not only led to some significant changes legislatively but also in trying to swing the pendulum back in favour of people and consumers.”
MacGregor and his wife are also working on food security closer to home. The couple has a hobby farm in North Cowichan with one pig, one sheep, and a flock of chickens.
“I really do enjoy farming and just getting involved in food security,” said MacGregor. “It always helps take my mind off work when I’m out there getting my hands dirty. There’s always something to do whether it is looking after your animals or building various structures, and just planting. This is the time of year when we are trying to seed a lot of things that we want to grow for the next season. We’re really trying to establish a food forest. In previous years we planted a lot of fruit and nut trees, and of course do some annual vegetables as well. When we first got the property, it was a pretty barren piece of land, and we’ve been trying to revitalize that with the planting of different species of trees so that we can bring it back to life from the thatch-ridden meadow that it was, into something that can actually produce food and create a habitat.”
MacGregor will be offering himself up for re-election in October 2025, but for the year ahead is most excited about Bill C-277, which he has sponsored in hopes to set up a legislative framework for a national strategy on brain injury. Its first hour of debate is set for May.
“We have had a tremendous amount of community support behind that bill. It was developed in conjunction with Brain Injury Canada. The Cowichan Brain Injury Society has also been a big part of that conversation as well as the Constable Gerald Breese Centre for Traumatic Life Losses in Langford,” said MacGregor. “If you look at the spin-off effects from undiagnosed and untreated brain injury you can see intersections with our criminal justice system, and opioid use. People with brain injuries might be drawn to using drugs, or drugs may cause a brain injury. There are a lot of problems associated with this, and I think if we had a national strategy we would see a lot of the societal problems we are dealing with get better as a result. I hope that this bill, if enacted, is going to really focus both our federal and provincial government into providing resources for those people. I’m very happy to see that we are already getting encouraging signs from MPs of other parties, and I’m trying to get a meeting set up with the Minister of Health Mark Holland, and that will be a big focus of mine in the coming months as I work in Ottawa. I think having that first vote in favour is a hugely symbolic win for the bill.”
When MacGregor is not trying to move mountains for those in his riding he feels blessed to be surrounded by them and enjoys camping and hiking with his family. When he was younger he used to be an avid mountain biker and participated in high endurance bike races such as the Cheakamus Challenge, and the Test of Metal that went through the mountains of Squamish.
MacGregor said that one of his favourite parts of his job is when he gets to present to young people at schools, while answering their myriad of questions and creating food for thought.
“I love anytime I can talk to young people,” said MacGregor.“If we can get our youth interested in politics and to recognize how important it is in their lives, I really want to try and equip the next generation with that interest. A healthy democracy isn’t just based on electing the right people, it’s also based on having an informed and engaged electorate as well. The decisions that are made in Ottawa do affect people here and for many people, especially those struggling with some of life’s challenges may not feel like they have a voice, and may even feel powerless. I try to keep myself centred by continuing to remember the people who sent me there, and try to work on their behalf.”
MacGregor works hard for those living in his riding and hopes that those who visit or live in South Cowichan appreciate its beauty and the boom it has recently been seeing.
“I hope people take away that South Cowichan is a vibrant and growing community that is trying to live in harmony with its natural environment,” said MacGregor. “I think there are a lot of strong efforts to forge renewed relationships with Malahat First Nation, and show the rest of the world why this is such a desirable place to live or visit — we have a lot to offer.”