Jessica Smith, 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 said his party was “here to stay”, although he failed to capture the ride, which the party saw as its best hope for second place in Thursday’s election.
Mike Schreiner, who was re-elected in Guelph, says the close race in Paris Sound Muskoka is showing growing support for the Green Party in the province.
“Seeing a green candidate so close, so close in a ride that has always turned blue, tells you that there is green momentum, there is a Green Wave building in this province,” Schreiner said in his speech on election night.
“It’s not just in Guelph, it’s in Ontario.”
Studies show that the Greens and Progressive Conservatives were in close competition in Paris Sound-Muscoca, a Schreiner rider visited many times during the campaign. However, Bracebridge Mayor Graden Smith eventually took over the ride for the Tories.
In a telephone interview, Schreiner said he thought his party had run a good campaign, although there was one thing he would have done differently.
“Don’t get COVID,” he said with a laugh, referring to his positive test in the middle of the race, which led to several days of virtual campaign.
“We have seen an increase in our total number of votes throughout the province and we have run a number of strong campaigns, and I think we will just continue to build on that.”
Christine de Clercy, a political scientist at Western University, said she said the Greens had “a really good campaign, to be honest.”
“They presented a very strong, diverse, thoughtful, forward-looking platform,” de Clercy said. “I think Mr Schreiner is working in particular to make the Greens more attractive to people, not only in urban areas, but also in rural and suburban areas.”
This election marks the first time Schreiner has clashed with other leaders during the campaign debate. He had a fervent presence during a televised meeting on May 16, at one point asking Progressive Conservative leader Doug Ford: “Mr. Ford, have you talked to a nurse lately?
Schreiner was so impressed that his name was popular on Twitter in Canada and even garnered approval from Ford himself.
De Clairce said his appearance at the debate was impressive.
“In the leaders’ debate, Mr Schreiner showed that he has excellent communication skills, he really managed to present and defend his party’s position and also to criticize other leaders in a very politically mature way,” she said.
“He didn’t look like the rookie leader at all in his first debate with the big parties.”
De Clercy said one of the “systemic problems” facing the Greens was how to present themselves as the most reliable option for progressive voters.
“And while Mr. Schreiner’s platform, I think, puts him and his party in a much better position with other progressive parties, apparently tonight’s results showed that they still haven’t figured out the magic formula, the way to reach these voters who may eventually consider voting for him. “
The leader of the Greens became the first and only representative of his party after winning his race in 2018. This success came after receiving support in his three previous candidacies for the post.
Since then, Schreiner has stood out at Queen’s Park as an effective critic of the environment, the government’s response to COVID-19 and many others, saying the party’s priorities overlapped with his own ideals when he first jumped into politics.
This year, the Ontario Greens ran their biggest election campaign with $ 228,803 raised as donations by March, compared to $ 94,695 at the same time in 2018.
The Greens’ plan for economic transition amid climate change has set itself the goal of both halving carbon pollution by 2030 and reaching net zero by 2045.
The plan to reduce emissions includes a proposal to phase out the sale of new passenger cars on gas and diesel cars, medium-duty trucks and buses by 2030, and to move homes and offices to net zero by 2040, uses a combination of solar and heat pumps.
The Greens also pledged $ 10,000 in discounts for electric vehicles and pledged to build more charging infrastructure, offering an annual fund of $ 2 billion for municipalities to adapt to climate change.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on June 2, 2022.
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