Wednesday April 24, 2024 | SIDNEY, BC [Updated 7:27 pm]
Political notes by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Elizabeth May is for many Canadians a household name. She has been leader of the Green Party of Canada for many years and a career-long activist and visionary for the environment. She has over 312,000 followers on the X social media platform!
She has been the Member of Parliament for Saanich-Gulf Islands since 2011. She was re-elected in 2015 (54.4% of the vote), 2019 (49.09%) and 2021 (37.62%). She has already been nominated to represent the Green Party in her riding to run again in 2025.
She’s been around in the public eye a long time, so perhaps for some reason that’s why the federal NDP this week are saying the Saanich-Gulf Islands riding is ‘vulnerable’ in a four-way race (Green, Conservative, Liberal and NDP). In the 2021 election May’s 37.62% was followed by 22.55% of the vote going Conservative, 18.40% to the Liberal candidate with a neck-and-neck results of 18.25% for the NDP.
Vulnerable this time around?
“They always say that and they’re always wrong,” said May about the NDP assertion that the riding is ‘vulnerable’ for the 2025 election.
The NDP are holding their candidacy nomination meeting this weekend in Sidney, with two people (Devon Black and Colin Plant) vying for the NDP candidate’s role.
The Saanich-Gulf Islands riding was created in 1988 (from the previous ridings of Esquimalt—Saanich and Cowichan—Malahat—The Islands), and held by the NDP at that time.
But prior to Elizabeth May winning for her Green Party in 2011 the riding was for many years strongly Conservative (held by Conservative MP Gary Lunn from 1997 to 2011).
“If anyone says I’m too old for this job, they’re ageist and prejudiced in ways that dishonour them,” said May today. “Look at Joe Biden and Donald Trump and try to tell me that a 69-year-old woman is too old. I’m sorry, no.”
May got into politics after she turned 50. She notes that Conservatives leader Pierre Poilievre got elected to parliament when he was 24 and “has never had any other job”. May has worked as a lawyer, a small business owner, and had “a long life in real life before I ever entered politics”.
“I’m committed to serving my country and my planet, and more than ever my goal is to be the very best MP Saanich-Gulf Islands has ever had,” said May today.
“And the voters will get to choose!” says the ever-fiery Elizabeth May.
Supporting provincial campaigns first:
May is going to be busy pitching in with Green candidate campaigns in three provinces this year (BC – scheduled for October 20, 2024; New Brunswick – scheduled for October 21, 2024; and Saskatchewan – scheduled for October 28, 2024).
After the BC election in October 2024, May will then focus on her own re-election campaign for the federal election which is scheduled for October 20, 2025, she told Island Social Trends today in an interview by phone from the Nanaimo airport.
She says she is “very committed” to seeing more BC Greens elected this fall and will be going door to door for provincial Greens including Adam Olsen (MLA for Saanich North and The Islands since 2017).
Hardest working MP in Canada:
Today May said that she works hard in service to her constituents and that’s why the voters keep returning her to the House of Commons.
She was named by fellow MPs as Parliamentarian of the Year 2012, Hardest Working MP 2013, Best Orator 2014, and Most Knowledgeable 2020. In 2010, Newsweek named her as one of the world’s most influential women.
“I work in service to my constituents and I attribute voter support to the fact that I work hard for Saanich-Gulf Islands, for constituents whether they voted for me or not. I think I’m pretty well known for hard work,” said May today. “I think that’s why I get re-elected!”.
Heading back to Ottawa from Nanaimo today:
May was in Nanaimo today for the sentencing of her Deputy Leader Angela Davidson (aka Rainbow Eyes) over Davidson’s participation in the Fairy Creek protests about old growth forests. Then she headed to the Nanaimo airport for her trip back to Ottawa (the House is scheduled to continue sitting from April 29 to June 21).
Environment top of mind:
Last week Elizabeth May along with Mike Morrice, MP (Kitchener Centre), and Jonathan Pedneault (Deputy Leader of the Green Party of Canada); the April 15 press conference presented the Green Party’s priorities for Budget 2024-2025.
Environment is Elizabeth May’s top concern. She says the Liberals “talk out of both sides of their mouth” about the environment (she’d like to see the Trans Mountain Pipeline canceled and they “can’t claim they have a climate plan because they have a climate price”). “The Liberals don’t have a plan for climate action”, says May, adding that “the NDP plan is to rubber stamp the Liberals non-plan and occasionally back-pedaling and going with the Conservatives.”
“The NDP federally have lost all credibility on climate. The Conservatives never had any credibility on climate,” is May’s quick summary on environmental political positions.
“None of them are responding to the immediacy of the climate crisis in ways that help the Canadian economy, build sustainable resilient communities,” says the Green Party leader.
May notes that “British Columbia has been through so much… heat dome, atmospheric river, wildfires… we need to be far better protected and far better prepared. The Green Party is the only party with a plan for all of that,” she asserts.
Canada needs to “put in place a 100% renewable electricity plan for the whole country. To ensure that we have an east-west and north-south electricity grid that connects each province and territory with each other so that we can use the grid like a giant battery and improve our economy and protect our climate at the same time”.
===== RELATED:
NDP sees Saanich-Gulf Islands as ‘vulnerable’ (April 23, 2024)
POLITICAL NEWS (Island Social Trends)
===== ABOUT THE WRITER:
Island Social Trends founder and editor Mary P Brooke has been reporting on regional news and provincial/federal impacts on south Vancouver Island since 2008.
Ms Brooke’s publication series began with the colour quarterly MapleLine Magazine (2008-2010), followed by the weekly printed grayscale Sooke Voice News (2011-2013), then the colour weekly print/PDF West Shore Voice News (2014-2020). Island Social Trends was launched after that during the pandemic as a daily online news portal at IslandSocialTrends.ca with a printed biweekly print edition relaunching in 2024.
In 2023, Ms Brooke was nominated for a Jack Webster Foundation journalism award to recognize a woman journalist who contributes to her community through journalism.
The mother of four now-grown children, Ms Brooke ran for school trustee in School District SD62 in 2022 while continuing to run her own small business here on south Vancouver Island.