The Green Party’s Turbulent 2021
Cover photo: Annamie Paul with Green Party of Canada supporters by Rebecca Wood is licensed under Wikimedia Commons
The Green Party of Canada’s entry into the 2021 Federal Election with little to no discernable game plan was reflected in their underwhelming performance garnering 2.32% of the popular vote. Considering the success they had two years prior when they received 6.55%, this was a disastrous result. This year, the Greens have emerged from the election with not only a mere two seats in the House of Commons, but more importantly, an uncertain future. After 13-year party leader Elizabeth May stepped down in 2019 , the party was left with a consequential choice in filling the big role. Their election of Annamie Paul in 2020, the first black Canadian and Jewish woman to lead a Canadian political party represented a huge stride in diversity and inclusivity in politics. It was clear that the Greens were stepping in a new direction. Yet, only shortly after her successful assumption of party leadership, it became clear that the party was in crisis. Major obstacles the party faced unearthed themselves as Canada braced for an election.
Problems began in October when Paul failed to win in her home riding of Toronto-Center for the third time. While she did place second and announced her plans to run again, she remained the only party leader who was not an MP, raising concerns over her abilities to compete. The following year, only six months into her time as party leader, Paul faced increasing resistance, largely driven by a continued favour for Elizabeth May, from the party. While Paul was not an MP herself, the party still had representation in the House of Commons through Elizabeth May, Paul Manly, and Jenica Atwin. It was important that Annamie Paul maintained ties with these politicians as they were important actors in the party’s national representation. At the time, Jenica Atwin, MP for Fredericton, NB, had been key to the party’s success in 2019. She was valuable because of her effectiveness in the House and her victory in New Brunswick, which usually votes Liberal or Conservative.
However, as Paul continued to butt heads with the Green’s Federal Council, tensions rose and finally erupted after a one of Paul’s campaign staff posted a contentious tweet on Israeli-Palestinian affairs. With internal turmoil rampant, Atwin chose to leave the party and join the Liberals, citing “distractions” as her reasoning 一 a direct reference to the scandal occurring at the time. Atwin’s resignation was a major blow to the Green Party, as the loss of an effective MP to a competing party had shrunk the Green’s representation to just two MP’s and revealed serious structural issues within the party. Both of the Green’s remaining MP’s were critical of how Paul had handled the situation and suggested that her actions had driven out a key member of the party’s future. Soon after, nine months into Paul’s leadership a vote of non-confidence was initiated against her.
In the summer of 2021, with the possibility of a federal election looking increasingly likely, the Greens managed to de-escalate their situation. However, this had left them drastically unprepared to compete. While other parties began positioning themselves by releasing their platforms, touring the country, and holding conventions, the Green’s were facing a severe shortage of candidates (only 240 candidates out of 338 constituencies), as many did not want to run under the current leadership. Echoing Atwin’s concerns, many candidates found the environment hostile and declined to run in their respective constituencies. Furthermore, the party lacked funding as a shortage of donor support led to layoffs and cost-cutting. Almost half of Paul’s campaign staff and her interim chief of staff were let go and upwards of $250,000 in funds meant for Paul’s campaign in Toronto-Center were cut. A lack of candidates and funding left the Green’s with no real ability to be effective competitors in this election.
Amidst these setbacks, the party did manage to release a campaign platform that pertained to the conventional Green focus: the environment. Proposals including the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions as well as the cancellation of potential pipelines and oil exploration tied into the overarching focus of achieving net-zero emissions in Canada by 2050. With the natural gas industry contributing to nearly 10% of Canada’s GDP, the challenge for the Green’s was convincing voters that a move away from oil and gas would be beneficial for everyone. The industry employs thousands and the revenues help pay for roads, education, and healthcare. To address these concerns, the party put forth policies that would ease the supposed transition away from fossil fuels and towards green energy. High paying fossil fuel jobs would be replaced by high-paying green sector jobs coupled with wage insurance and early retirement plans to incentivize the switch.
Beyond the environment, the Greens sought to tackle various social issues in Canada, such as homelessness, and housing prices. Their campaign platform added policies such as the abolition of post-secondary tuition, free pharma and dental care, and a guaranteed livable income. Under Green leadership, homelessness and housing would be declared national emergencies and student debt held by the federal government would be cancelled. While these ideas sounded promising, competing parties also laid out robust plans on healthcare, the economy, and the environment. The challenges the Green party faced simply rendered them unable to effectively compete on the electoral level with the larger parties. This would prove true as the Green’s failed to rally many undecided voters behind their platform. That is not to say that the party lacked any voice at all as they remained critical of the abilities of the Liberals, Conservatives, or NDP to be able to deliver on their respective pledges, particularly ones concerning the environment.
Has the magnitude of their conflict strayed them away from their core values? The indications suggest so. To new voters, the party mainly presents itself as one that will vocalize environmental concerns by highlighting current issues and presenting solutions. It also holds the larger parties accountable on their promises and decisions surrounding the environment, arguably an important role as Canada faces the impacts of climate change. It could be said that these two roles comprise the main purpose of the Green party within the Canadian political landscape. With the outcome of the 2021 Federal Election, a battered and bruised Green Party found itself in is a cause for concern on their abilities to fulfill these roles and keep a clear Green direction in the future.