Party leader looks to garner public support in search of an invite
On Tuesday, June 3rd, provincial party leaders Andrea Horwath (NDP), Tim Hudak (PC), and Kathleen Wynne (Liberal) will square-off in the only announced debate for the current election process. However, Green Party leader and City of Guelph candidate, Mike Schreiner, will not be participating. This is not due to scheduling conflicts, but rather to an issue of rules and regulations that plague both provincial and federal politics.
The Green Party of Ontario has had candidates running at the provincial level since 1985. Growing in numbers and support over the years, the party grew to have candidates running in each riding by 2007. In the past three elections, the Green Party have received between 5 and 10 per cent of the popular vote. Unfortunately, in the electoral system of First-Past-the-Post (FPTP), this has yet to result in an actual elected seat.
In order for a party to participate in the leaders’ debate, they must have an elected representative in the legislature. However, this rule can be by-passed if enough support is garnered, as was seen at the federal level in 2008. An exception was made in the 2008 leaders’ debate to allow federal Green Party leader, Elizabeth May, to participate. Despite public support, however, she was not invited back to the 2011 debate.
This did not seem to affect her popularity, as it was in this election that May won her seat in the House of Commons, becoming the first Green Party MP in Canada. This means that in the 2015 election she will be guaranteed a spot in the leaders’ debate.
Schreiner is the second leader of the Ontario Green Party, succeeding Frank De Jong. He has been a member of the party since 2004 and became leader in 2009. The City of Guelph has had a Green Party candidate run in the last three elections. Previous candidates include Ben Polley (2003, 2007) and Steve Dyck (2011). Schreiner officially became Guelph’s candidate in 2012.
While the stage is set for only three leaders to participate in the debate, the Green Party hopes that enough public support will help to by-pass this rule and land Schreiner an invite. As Guelph’s candidate, Schreiner will be participating in the local leaders’ debate, taking place at the Cutten Fields on June 2nd at 7 p.m.