Patrick Lucas

Member of the canadian institute of planners;
REgistered professional planner

Courtenay, British Columbia
Unceded K'ómoks Territory

Though my family settled in Quebec in the late 1600s, I grew up as the child of an Air Force Officer, I moved a dozen times before I was eighteen years old, a pattern I have continued living and working in dozens of communities throughout western Canada and Asia. I am fascinated by place and belonging, always seeking to understand and assist in the creating of sustainable, healthy, resilient and adaptive communities.

 I am an award winning registered professional planner with nearly twenty years experience in working with Indigenous Peoples. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies at the University of Northern British Columbia, I started my career working with CUSO Canada as a development worker in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic where I worked with Khmu people on land rights and watershed management. I returned to Canada in 2007 and have had the honour of working alongside Indigenous mentors learning the pathways to building relations based on trust and mutual respect. I have worked with dozens of First Nations on a broad range of issues including comprehensive community planning, land use planning, and community economic development.

 In 2012, based on a chance encounter with a Nlaka’pamux elder, I was invited to work with his Nation to build a mountain bike skills park with their youth. This transformative experience led to the creation of the Indigenous Youth Mountain Bike Program, a journey that has taken me to dozens of communities building nature trails and learning what it means to be an ally to Indigenous Peoples. More than anything, these experiences taught me what it means to get down in the dirt and focus on building capacity that can lead to enduring social and economic development.