Jessica Smith, The Canadian Press Published Thursday, June 2, 2022 10:06 PM EDT Last Updated on Friday, June 3, 2022 12:13 AM EDT
The Ontario Greens leader says his party is “here to stay” despite failing to capture the path the party saw as its best hope for a second seat in Thursday’s election.
Mike Schreiner, who was re-elected in Guelph, says the race at Parry Sound-Muskoka showed growing support for the Green Party in the province.
“Seeing a green candidate so close, so close in a circus that has always turned blue tells you that there is a green impulse, there is a green wave in this province,” Schreiner said in his speech from the election night.
“It’s not just in Guelph, it’s on excursions across Ontario.”
Polls suggested the Greens and Progressive Conservatives were in a tight race for Parry Sound-Muskoka, a lot Schreiner visited many times throughout the campaign. However, Bracebridge Mayor Graydon Smith eventually took the ball for the Conservatives.
In a telephone interview, Schreiner said he believes his party did a good campaign, although there is something he would have done differently.
“Don’t have COVID,” he said laughing, referring to his positive mid-race test, which sparked several days of virtual campaigning.
“We saw an increase in our total votes across the province and we ran a series of strong campaigns and I think we’ll just keep building it.”
Cristine de Clercy, a political scientist at Western University, said that in her opinion, the Greens had “a very good campaign, frankly.”
“They presented a very strong, diverse, thoughtful and forward-looking platform,” de Clercy said. “I think Mr. Schreiner in particular has worked to extend the attractiveness of the Greens to people not only in urban areas, but also in rural and suburban areas.”
This election marked the first time Schreiner had fought with other leaders during campaign debates. He had a fiery presence during the televised showdown on May 16, and at one point asked Conservative progressive leader Doug Ford, “Mr. Ford, have you been talking to a nurse lately?
Schreiner made such a strong impression that his name was trending on Twitter in Canada, and even provoked an air endorsement from Ford himself.
De Clercy said his appearance in the debate was impressive.
“In the debate of the leaders, Mr. Schreiner showed that he has excellent communication skills, he really managed to present and defend the position of his party and also to criticize the other leaders in a very politically mature way,” he said. .
“He didn’t look like the rookie leader in his first major party debate.”
De Clercy said one of the “systemic problems” facing greens is how to present itself as the most reliable option for progressive voters.
“And although Mr. Schreiner, I think, puts him and his party in a much better competitive position with the rest of the progressive parties, obviously tonight’s results show that they have not yet discovered the magic formula, the way to reach these voters. . that I could ultimately consider voting for him. “
The leader of the Greens became the first and only representative of his party after winning his committee in 2018. This success came after having support in his three previous candidacies.
Since then, Schreiner has stood out in Queen’s Park as an effective critic of the environment, the government’s response to COVID-19 and more, saying the party’s priorities overlapped with its own ideals when it did. the leap into politics.
This year, the Ontario Greens ran their largest election campaign in history, with $ 228,803 raised in donations in March, compared to $ 94,695 at the same time in 2018.
The Greens’ plan for the transition of the economy amid climate change set the goal of halving carbon pollution by 2030 and reaching zero by 2045.
The plan to reduce emissions included a proposal to phase out the sale of new gas and diesel passenger vehicles, trucks and mid-service buses by 2030, and for the transition from zero-net housing and offices. in 2040 by a combination of solar and heat pumps.
The Greens also made promises of $ 10,000 rebates for electric vehicles and pledged to build more charging infrastructure, proposing a $ 2 billion annual fund for municipalities to adapt to climate change.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on June 2, 2022.