A Vancouver-based grassroots group is collecting signatures in support of its fight against the contentious Northern Gateway pipeline.

Volunteers from the Dogwood Initiative canvassed a Vancouver neighbourhood Saturday to raise awareness about the pipeline, just one day after federal hearings for the $5-billion project ended.

Now that the hearings are over, the group wants to make sure the fight against the pipeline doesn’t lose steam.

Opponents launched a new campaign called “Knock the Vote,” and want the pipeline to become a provincial election issue in British Columbia.

"We're putting pressure on all political parties to come out in opposition against plans to expand pipelines and tankers by going knocking on doors and talking to key voters in a swing riding," Jolan Bailey, an outreach coordinator for Forest Ethics Advocacy said.

Volunteers were prepped Saturday on how to approach residents with the petition and then set out knocking on doors in the Vancouver-Fairview neighbourhood.

First-time volunteers explained to CTV British Columbia why they were getting behind the cause.

“For me, it’s worth going to these lengths to try to protect the coast because it’s too risky,” artist Anton Gross said.

While some residents declined to sign the group’s petition, others were pleased by the initiative.

“I think it’s a good thing. In a democracy, the more we can actively take part, and feel like we have an impact on crucial issues to the future of our country,” resident William Narvey said.

So far, the petition to stop the pipeline has over 150,000 signatures and the group is hoping to collect many more before the May election.

Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline would stretch 1,777 kilometres across Alberta and British Columbia, bringing bitumen from the oilsands to a port in Kitimat, B.C.

The pipeline has been mired in controversy with both supporters and opponents speaking out.

Supporters say the project would create thousands of jobs and boost Canada’s oil revenues, while opponents say the pipeline would be detrimental to the environment.

With a report from CTV British Columbia’s Peter Grainger