About Teale
Teale lives in Saanich near Rutledge Park with his partner Stephanie. In 2022 he was elected as a Councillor for the District of Saanich, BC, Canada. He works as Director of Research for OceansAsia, a marine conservation organization dedicated to protecting our oceans and combatting wildlife crime.
As a long-time and active Saanich resident, Teale works to build a vibrant and connected community. He leads the Greater Victoria Placemaking Network’s Pocket Places Project, which maps, promotes, builds, and stocks little free libraries in Saanich and communities throughout the Capital Regional District.
To date, he has helped build over 120 of these little book boxes, and has delivered and distributed more than 100,000 books to the region's growing network of over 1,000 little free libraries with his bike trailer.
Teale is an avid cyclist, and he regularly tours around Saanich, topping up little free libraries and running daily errands. His experience cycling the streets of the CRD has made him a passionate advocate for road safety and active transportation.
With over 20 years of experience advocating for the environment, Teale understands that a resilient and sustainable Saanich needs to face the challenges of climate change head-on.
Teale leads an international team of researchers with OceansAsia, and their work has been making a positive impact around the globe.
His work on illegal fishing has helped draw attention to wildlife crime targeting lesser-known but important marine species (like krill and sea cucumbers), and his research on marine plastic pollution made global headlines in 2020.
As a Councillor for the District of Saanich, Teale chairs the Accessibility & Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Advisory Committee, and sits on the Housing Affordability Standing Committee.
He is proud to represent Saanich as a Director on the Royal McPherson Theatre Society Board, and as a Trustee on the board of the Greater Victoria Public Library. He serves as Director on the Regional Water Supply Commission, for the Capital Regional District (CRD), and is a member of the board of Climate Caucus, a non-partisan network of 700 current and former local elected leaders and allies, leading the transformation needed for communities to thrive within planetary boundaries.
Learn More About Teale
Teale has a PhD in politics and international studies from the University of Cambridge, and two BAs from the University of Calgary (political science and international relations).
Teale fights for equality and is an advocate for reproductive justice. In 2017, he co-founded the AccessBC Campaign for free prescription contraception, and has served as the Chair of this grassroots campaign ever since. In 2023, the campaign succeeded in convincing the BC government to make all prescription contraception in BC free.
An expert in marine wildlife crime, illegal fishing, and the strategies of non-state actors in international relations, Teale has published extensively on these subjects and presented his work around the world, including at UN and academic conferences.
Teale has considerable experience writing and studying policy at all levels of government. As the Research Coordinator for the BC Humanist Association, he works on a wide range of issues relating to the separation of religion and government. This work has covered issues including municipal taxes and procedures, provincial health issues, reproductive health issues, education policy, and more.
To learn more about his various projects, please visit the Campaigns and Projects and Media pages.