Stewart Muir, founder of the extractive industries advocacy group Resource Works, is listed among the attendees of the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) conference.

Dubbed the Glastonbury of Climate Denial, ARC is led by Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson, who has previously called climate change a “scam.” The conference, which took place in London in mid-February, attracted the radical right authors of Project 2025, wealthy Trump donors, senior fossil fuel company representatives, and evangelical think tanks, as well as British Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch and Brexit leader Nigel Farage. Far-right politicians from France, Hungary, Poland and Spain also attended.

Resource Works describes itself as a “public-interest advocacy and communications not-for-profit” based in Vancouver, British Columbia, with a stated mission to “reignite the promise of Canada’s economic future leading respectful, inclusive and fact-based dialogue on natural resource development.” Resource Works was first launched by the Business Council of British Columbia (BCBC) in 2014, and lists Muir as chief executive. BCBC’s members have included major oil and pipeline companies, as well as pro-oil think tanks affiliated with the Koch Brothers Atlas Network, such as the Fraser Institute.

DeSmog has previously reported that Muir has extensive personal and professional connections to the resource sector, the oil and gas sector, various related lobby groups and consulting agencies, as well the governments of B.C. and Alberta. He was also the deputy managing editor of the Vancouver Sun from 1995 to 2009.

Muir did not respond to DeSmog’s request for comment. His inclusion on the ARC attendee list puts him at odds with his public image as a well-connected political insider and moderate seeking responsible resource development. Muir is registered at the conference as an attendee and advocate. A biographical note indicates Muir is a journalist and podcaster “who leads awareness efforts supporting energy and natural resource security.”

Illustrating the extreme anti-science position representative of the ARC conference were statements made by new U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who vowed to get out of the way of new oil, gas, and coal development. Wright, an oil and gas industry executive with a long history of lobbying against emissions reduction efforts, has previously stated that “there is no climate crisis” and that the UK’s 2050 net zero target is “a sinister goal” that would “impoverish” people. Wright has also suggested that climate action is part of a plot to “grow government power” and “shrink human freedom.” 

Muir recently shared a video critical of tariffs proposed by the Trump administration. However, the ARC conference invited a long list of people within the American president’s orbit. Trump has recently announced additional tariff threats while simultaneously bullying Canada into annexation. Key figures close to Trump — a noted climate change denialist in his own right — include Vivek Ramaswamy, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, and tech founder and 2016 Trump donor Peter Thiel, among many others.

ARC headliner Nigel Farage admitted he doesn’t know much about climate science, but nonetheless reiterated false climate claims at the conference – including that “volcanoes have more impact on the climate than human-caused CO2 emissions.” Farage leads Reform UK and helped to launch the UK branch of the Heartland Institute. 

Muir is scheduled to speak at the Canada Gas Exhibition and Conference, to be held in Calgary in June 2025. The conference — which will be hosted alongside the annual Global Energy Show — is one of the premier gas industry events in Canada. The event seeks to promote Canada as both a potential global LNG exporter that is simultaneously committed to achieving net zero goals. Canada’s LNG sector has long claimed Canadian natural gas can be used as a bridge fuel to reduce the use of more carbon intensive fossil fuels. Recent reporting from DeSmog indicates experts are concerned new LNG projects in B.C. could be environmentally disastrous, setting off a “carbon bomb.” Muir has spoken at the event before, though he presented himself as a “Canadian journalist who has been covering Canadian energy issues for (more) than 20 years as a writer, editor, publisher and filmmaker.” 

His direct connections to industry, lobbying efforts, and policy makers, were not mentioned and appear to be downplayed in Muir’s online presence.

Among Resource Works’ recent activity, DeSmog reported that they unsuccessfully fought a decision by the City of Vancouver to ban natural gas heating in new housing construction. Resource Works, which has ties to the Canadian natural gas industry, provided pre-written comments arguing against the gas ban, which they encouraged their members to send to Vancouver’s mayor and city council. The aim was to influence the vote, and encouraged those on Resource Works’ email list to identify themselves as “small business owner,” “hospitality worker,” or “restaurant owner.” The content was attributed to former B.C. environment minister Barry Penner.

Resource Works was also recently reported to have received funding from Cenovus, Canada’s second-largest oil producer. Resource Works has been a vocal opponent of proposed emissions caps.