Terrasse-Vaudreuil, a small town in Quebec, has become the first municipality in Canada to officially recognize trees as living beings with a fundamental set of rights. The town, located west of Montreal, adopted a resolution on June 9 to sign the Universal Declaration of Tree Rights.
The declaration, launched in 2018, seeks to counter worldwide deforestation and challenge the perception of trees as mere resources. Its stated goal is to "recognize the Tree as a sentient living being, a source of Life and a common good of humanity." A 2019 petition in support of the declaration garnered nearly 88,000 signatures, and Terrasse-Vaudreuil's adoption marks the first time a public entity in North America has signed on.
Mayor Michel Bourdeau stated that the resolution reaffirms the town's commitment to a sustainable future. He indicated that this recognition will be accompanied by concrete programs focused on protecting the town's tree canopy, planting new trees, and educating the public about their importance. Bourdeau also emphasized the role of trees in combating climate change, referring to them as "our biggest ally."
Terrasse-Vaudreuil has pledged to uphold the three core principles of the Universal Declaration of Tree Rights. The first principle asserts that "The Tree, a sentient living being and source of Life, is a common good of humanity." The second states, "Life on Earth depends upon the existence of the Tree." The third principle calls for humans to "act with the Tree in a spirit of fraternity and solidarity."
According to the town's press release, this initiative was inspired by the film "Des arbres et des arts" (Trees and the Arts) by Quebec filmmaker André Desrochers. The film advocates that trees are sentient beings that communicate through underground fungal networks connected to their roots. The declaration similarly emphasizes trees' sentience, while also clarifying that the recognition of tree rights does not automatically equate to granting them legal personhood, which may be one mechanism for protection but not the sole objective.
The primary intention behind recognizing trees as sentient beings is to shift the perspective away from viewing them "solely as an object, property, raw material or resource available exclusively for human benefit."
This action follows similar, though sometimes temporary or contested, grants of legal protections to natural entities in North America. In 2021, Quebec’s Magpie River was granted legal personhood by the Innu Council of Ekuanitshit and the regional municipal council of Minganie, bestowing upon it nine rights, including freedom from pollution and the right to maintain its natural biodiversity. In 2020, a federal judge ruled unconstitutional a 2019 measure that had temporarily granted Lake Erie in Ohio legal personhood.