Next election could be some time away, predicts Green leader
Elizabeth May isn’t expecting another federal election any time soon.
The Green leader says she believes none of the parties with the political muscle to pull the plug on the coming minority Parliament will be prepared to do so.
The Greens, who return to the House of Commons with three members, fell short of the numbers required to hold the balance of power.
The Conservatives and NDP, meanwhile, need time to get ready for another trip to the polls, May said in an interview. The Conservatives are wrestling with the question of whether Andrew Scheer should remain leader and the New Democrats have to replenish their coffers.
“I doubt very much that the other parties in Parliament will be prepared to go back to the polls, not on principle but purely on the mechanics of another election and them not being ready,” May said.
“Things didn’t break the way I had thought they might. We would have been the only ones in the House who would be prepared to pull the plug and go to an election over a matter of principle.”
May intends to use whatever influence her party can muster in the coming months to ensure bolder action on climate change and progress on issues such as a pharmacare plan and lower cellphone rates.
Although May, 65, would again lead the Greens in the unlikely event of a snap election, it would not serve the interests of the party to helm another run four years from now, she said.
“It’s not as if being leader of the Green party is something that I do because I love being leader of the Green party. I love the Green party and this is a service,” she said.
“I think it’s quite unlikely that I’ll be the leader of the Green party going into a future election if it’s on anything like a four-year timing.”
May, who has led the party since 2006, indicated her small caucus — B.C. MP Paul Manly and newcomer Jenica Atwin of Fredericton — will have a say in her future.
“I have some choices to make about what best serves the interests of Canada, the interests of the Green party writ large and more specifically the interests of two people that I adore — Jenica and Paul, who have every reason to be able to weigh in on the decision.”
Regardless, May said, it is “very likely” she will run again in her Vancouver Island riding.
May recalls feeling despondent in 2015 at heading back to the House as the lone Green MP.
“I don’t feel crushed today, not at all,” she said. “Going back to Parliament as a group of three? We’ve never had that.”
May is also heartened that over 50 Green candidates garnered at least 10 per cent of the vote in their ridings.
“We are now accepted, not in one region but pretty much across Canada, as a viable party. We’re positioned in a way that means, quite solidly, we’re not going away.”
