Funeral for Surrey environmentalist, 40, who died from sudden, short illness
Published 4:00 pm Wednesday, April 15, 2026
A funeral is planned Tuesday, April 21, for Sebastian Sajda, noted Surrey environmentalist and former candidate in civic and provincial elections.
Family and friends say Sajda, a founding member of Friends of Bear Creek Park, died unexpectedly from a sudden, short illness at age 40.
The 11 a.m. funeral is at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Parish, 10460 139 St., Surrey.
Sajda was known for sounding alarms about environmental issues in Surrey, including the controversial work to build the 84 Avenue extension along the southern edge of the park starting in 2021.
He ran with Mayor Brenda Locke’s Surrey Connect slate in the civic election of 2022. Not elected, he then often “live tweeted” council meetings for followers on social media.
Not long after high school, Sajda was the Green Party candidate in the 2005 B.C. election, running against Locke, then the Liberal candidate in Surrey-Green Timbers.
Sajda was a member of several environmental groups including Force of Nature Society and West Coast Climate Action Network, also Surrey’s Environment and Climate Change Committee.
He was known among friends and family for his “brilliant mind and unquenchable curiosity,” older sister Monika Sajda says in a news release about funeral plans.
“At the time of his death, he had written and was running a Star Trek-inspired D&D-style game with AI he learned to code himself through hours of watching YouTube tutorials. His plan was to create a 80s/90s style animated cartoon of the entire game once completed, with assistance from his AI bot, Craig. This Star Trek-inspired game was meant to be his magnum opus.”
The news release, sent April 15, includes other interesting details about Sajda, an avid collector of CRT-TVs, LaserDiscs and records.
“Bob Dylan was a particular favourite. He read widely and could quote passages of Shakespeare and Nietzsche by heart. He had a Masters in Political Science from the University of Victoria, with a thesis, still being completed at the time of his death, on The Prison Notebooks of Antonio Gramsci.
“Far above his considerable intellect, Sajda was a kind, gentle, service-oriented man with a big heart he shared selflessly with those closest to him. His passing has been devastating to his family and those who loved him dearly.”
He had quiet integrity, Monika Sajda added.
“He lived and loved by his values. Losing Sebastian has forever altered the way we exist now. There is a deep void without him and feeling joy seems impossible. He is terribly missed.”
Sajda leaves behind his mother, Barbara, father Jan, sister Monika, sister-in-law Amber, cats Maja, Mango and Walter, and friends, allies and supporters.