The Green Party is raising alarms over what it describes as a surge of harassment targeting its volunteers during the early weeks of the federal election campaign.
Blacklock's Reporter says the party declined to name any individuals or political parties involved, provided no details of specific incidents, and said police had not been contacted, but warned that the tone of the campaign had reached a disturbing low.
“In my over 15 years of experience mobilizing candidates and working with volunteers I have never experienced anything like it,” said national campaign manager Robin Marty in a statement.
“Volunteers in tears, getting hurled abuse, others saying they never want to volunteer again. This is very concerning.”
No ridings were identified and no documentation was released, but the party insisted the overall atmosphere had become hostile enough to warrant action.
“The Green Party of Canada was shocked to hear of the levels of hostility and personal attacks its volunteers faced during the first weeks of the campaign period,” the statement read.
The party urged Elections Canada to investigate what it described as harassment and intimidation, and to recommend ways to protect civic participation. The agency has not responded publicly.
“If volunteers no longer feel safe in their civic engagement, democracy is threatened,” the statement continued. “What part of our democracy will be attacked next?”
The warning comes as the Greens continue to advocate for a united front among progressive parties to block the election of a Conservative majority.
On March 5, leader Elizabeth May called on like-minded parties to consider strategic cooperation.
“That will instill in our Parliament a spirit of co-operation,” May said. “That means thinking about voting very differently and thinking about how we might co-operate together.”
Pressed for details, May said there were many possible approaches.
“The range of options is almost infinite,” she told reporters. While the Greens have approached senior figures in both the Liberal and New Democratic parties, May admitted the response so far has been underwhelming.
“Responses have not been enthusiastic to sitting down and figuring this out.”
May insisted collaboration doesn’t mean undemocratic backroom deals.
“You don’t necessarily pull a candidate out of a race,” she said. “Any of us who present ourselves for office know it’s complicated. Voters want to know they have their choices.”
In the last general election, the Green Party received 396,988 votes, or 2.3%.
Their current platform includes free university tuition, eliminating income tax on personal earnings under $40,000, lowering the voting age to 16, creating a Youth Climate Corps to help communities prepare for climate impacts, and banning real estate spending through investment trusts.