Sat 24 Oct 2009
Canadian Green Party Leader Elizabeth May to run in British Columbia
Posted by admin under 2009 Fall World, World archive
by Camille Labchuk, Federal Councillor and former Press Secretary, Green Party of Canada
Green Party leader Elizabeth May’s announcement that she will run in the British Columbia (B.C.) riding (district) of Saanich—Gulf Islands in the next election has sparked a renewed sense of optimism and enthusiasm among Greens in Canada, raising hopes and expectations that the party will win its first seat in the House of Commons. May had previously run for a seat in her home province of Nova Scotia – on the Atlantic coast, thousands of miles away from B.C. What prompted her move to the other side of Canada? The answer lies in the party’s successes and failures in the last national election, and the reshuffling of Green priorities that has ensued.
Elizabeth May arrives in Saanich-Gulf Islands
By many accounts, the 2008 federal election was momentous for the Green Party of Canada (GPC). The party achieved a number of milestones, including May’s favourably reviewed participation in the televised leaders’ debates, an unprecedented number of candidates earning more than 10 percent of the vote, and a record seven percent of the overall national vote. But disappointingly, the GPC failed to accomplish a particularly critical goal: electing its first Green Member of Parliament (MP). With this weighing heavily on the minds of the GPC’s Campaign Committee and Federal Council, a substantial review of the party’s election performance resulted in one new overwhelming priority: electing the leader of the Green Party to Parliament.
The first step in electing the first Green MP was determining which of Canada’s 308 ridings is the most fertile ground for a Green breakthrough. Polls were commissioned where Green support has been strong and after an exhaustive examination of the results and the political climate in these ridings, one conclusion emerged: Saanich—Gulf Islands offers the best shot of electing a Green. Why?
The riding of Saanich--Gulf Islands
Saanich—Gulf Islands is one of the small-g greenest ridings in the country, comprised of several municipalities on Vancouver Island and a number of small islands located in the Straight of Georgia between Vancouver Island and the BC mainland, accessible only by ferry. Home to many warm communities of progressive-minded citizens, the islands are known for their amazing natural beauty, wealth of artistic and musical talent, homegrown organic and artisanal food, community markets and festivals, and environmental consciousness. Saanich—Gulf Islands voters in particular have given serious thought to the Green Party since 2004 when the riding was touted as the party’s best chance to elect a Green. That year, Green candidate Andrew Lewis won 17 percent of the vote — the best Green federal result to that date, and provincially, Lewis won over 25 percent in 2001. In recognition of the Greens’ popularity there, the Liberals and New Democrats (NDP) both recruited former Green Party activists as their candidates in Saanich—Gulf Islands in the 2008 election — a clear indication that voters there hold Green values near and dear, and that Green issues are campaign issues.
At the same time, B.C itself is one of the greenest provinces. If the Green Party itself can be said to have a geographical base in Canada, it’s in B. C. Back in 1983, Green Party of British Columbia (GPBC) was the first Green Party in North America, in recent years the GPBC has consistently brought home 8-12 percent of the vote — more than in any other province – and B.C. voters have elected many Greens to municipal governments, all of which means that British Columbians are used to considering the Green Party as a viable alternative. With many seasoned Green campaigners in the province, May will be also able to count on an influx of high-quality, experienced campaign volunteers coming into her riding.
Paradoxically, due to the regressive nature of the winner-take-all electoral system, the current MP for Saanich—Gulf Islands is Conservative cabinet minister Gary Lunn, who has held on to his seat since first being elected in 1997 because the riding’s progressive vote is split between the Liberals, NDP and Greens. Progressives have long acknowledged this problem and have gone so far as to launch a Shun Lunn campaign, encouraging voters to rally around one of Lunn’s opponents in order to vote him out. In the last election, the Liberal candidate came close, losing 43% to 39%, with Lewis also receiving 10.5% and the NDP candidate 5.7%. Clearly many voters want to rid themselves of Lunn, but have been unable to rally around a single opponent. But now when a star candidate like May enters the equation, a natural rallying point can emerge.
May’s electoral history, while brief, is nonetheless impressive and demonstrates that she naturally builds support among voters who usually vote for traditional parties. In November 2006 after a mere three months as Green leader, May pulled in 26 percent of the vote in a by-election (special election) in London North Centre in Ontario, surprising the nation with her second place finish. And while running in her home Nova Scotia riding (seen by many as Green-hostile territory) in 2008, May brought home another second place finish against a Conservative cabinet minister incumbent, increasing the Green vote there from less than two percent to over 32 percent.
As a former GPC press secretary, I worked day and night on May’s previous campaigns. Elizabeth May is a star candidate and a dynamic and tireless campaigner. I watched first hand as she won over voter after voter with her charm and wit, solid grasp of complex policy ideas, and inspiring vision for Canada and its communities. With her solid electoral record in ridings that are not seen as especially Green-friendly, May has a great chance at pulling off a victory in Saanich—Gulf Islands – a riding that is incredibly Green-friendly.
There remains a great deal of uncertainty over when Canada’s next federal election will be called. The current minority parliament situation in Canada means the governing Conservatives must rely on support from opposition parties to avoid losing key confidence votes and stay in power. The Liberals and NDP have propped up the Conservative government on key votes to date, because the Liberals have desired more time to organize before an election, and the NDP is in no financial shape for an election and is down in the polls. Recently the Liberals declared their intention to vote against the government at every possible opportunity and it’s unlikely support from the NDP will continue indefinitely. Many analysts expect the Conservative government to expire by spring 2010.
Despite this uncertainty, the GPC will not be caught off-guard as was the case in 2008, when Prime Minister Stephen Harper violated his own fixed-election date law and called a snap election for partisan advantage. May’s campaign has already kicked into high gear. She has relocated to the riding, has already received an overwhelmingly positive reception. But there’s little doubt the GPC will still have to fight tooth and nail to win this seat. With this in mind, the party is focusing its resources to run the most effective campaign in GPC history, with a massive effort to identify every possible Green voter, and a clear strategy to counter the expected dirty tricks from other parties to prevent the Greens from gaining a Parliamentary foothold. With such focus, commitment, and dedication, there’s a strong chance that Elizabeth May’s campaign in Saanich—Gulf Islands will send her to Ottawa and, thus, finally give a voice to the more than one million Green supporters who have been left without representation in Parliament.
For more information: www.elizabethmay.ca • www.camillelabchuk.ca • www.greenparty.ca
Other coverage of the Green Party of Canada in Green Pages:
New Canadian party leader gets Greens noticed - Elizabeth May has doubled party enrollment by engaging Parliament Hill
www.gp.org/greenpages-blog/?p=1860
Coming of age in Canada - 2006 Convention bigger and better than ever
www.gp.org/greenpages-blog/?p=1838
Canadians determined to gain representation - 2006 marks best election results ever
www.gp.org/greenpages-blog/?p=1884
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Finally the party is realizing that strategic planning in where to focus our efforts is as, if not more, important than having protests or walks or sit-ins etc. This attempt at maximizing the chances of getting a Green Party member in the Parliament is exactly what we need to do worldwide - particularly in the US.
Thank you Elizabeth May and her people for approaching the campaign intelligently, and with determination while maintaining the values that Green Party members hold dear.
U.S. Green Party Take notice!
This article does not represent an accurate picture of the truth. Written by an avid supporter of Ms May, it glosses over the fact that her candidacy in Saanich-Gulf Islands was contested by a party member — myself — who objected to the undemocratic way in which Ms May was parachuted into the riding by the increasingly powerful Campaign Committee of the party’s federal Council.
Under Elizabeth May, the Green Party of Canada has been transformed into the Elect Elizabeth May Machine, whose sole purpose is to advance Ms May’s personal political career at the expense of all other Green party candidates. This is not participatory democracy according to the Party’s own constitutional principles.
This is the same old British parliamentary demockery practiced by self-seeking politicians such as Ms May, who will stop at nothing to seize control of an avowedly democratic political party and pervert it to her own ends. Elizabeth May is not the saviour of the Green Party of Canada. She is part of its continuing demise as a democratic and p progressive olitical force.
Anyway, she won’t win Saanich-Gulf Islands. Despite what Ms Labchuk and the Party’s inner council believe, it simply isn’t a winnable riding for the Green Party.