Green Party leader Elizabeth May (Saanich-Gulf Islands, B.C.) urged opposition parties to work together to prevent a Conservative majority government in the next election.
Blacklock's Reporter says she suggested that Liberals, New Democrats, the Bloc Québécois, and Greens should explore ways to collaborate.
“It is common wisdom that if we’re going to have a Parliament that co-operates well together, it will be a minority Parliament where Liberals, Greens, NDP, and the Bloc have the majority of the seats but not any one party forming a majority government,” May told reporters.
“That will instill in our Parliament a spirit of co-operation.”
When asked what specific form this co-operation should take, May did not provide a clear answer.
“The range of options is almost infinite,” she said.
The Green Party secured 396,988 votes (2.3%) in the last federal election, trailing the Conservatives (5.7 million or 34%), Liberals (5.6 million or 33%), New Democrats (3 million or 18%), Bloc Québécois (1.3 million or 8%), and the People’s Party (840,993 or 5%).
“We have approached senior levels of the New Democratic Party,” said May. “We have approached senior levels of the Liberal Party. Responses have not been enthusiastic to sitting down and figuring this out.”
May emphasized that collaboration does not necessarily mean withdrawing candidates.
“There is always the accusation lurking of backroom deals that are anti-democratic. Any of us who present ourselves for office know it’s complicated. Voters want to know they have their choices.”
Despite her calls for co-operation, May confirmed that the Green Party would run a full slate of candidates in the next election.
“Within the Green Party we want to run a full slate and we will, so every Canadian has the option of voting Green,” she said.
“On the other hand, we want to make sure to the extent we can that the door is open, the olive branch is there, let’s talk about it.”
In the 2021 election, the Green Party ran 252 candidates in 338 ridings. Then-leader Annamie Paul focused her campaign efforts on Toronto Centre but failed to win the seat.
May also suggested that Conservatives should reconsider their approach to campaigning.
“Parties that describe themselves and generally are seen in the media as progressive, let’s just also say it would help for co-operation before the next election if the Conservatives wanted to sit down with all the other parties as well and renounce smear-based attack ads, renounce the use of negative algorithms to motivate people into fear-based voting, and rage farming,” she said.
She did not elaborate on those points.
May has previously criticized the Conservative Party, calling them “cheap and silly” in an August 30 statement and referring to Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre as “Skippy.”
