Greens’ Elizabeth May longs for NDP-Liberal accord

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      Canada’s first Green MP yearns for the era she views as Camelot on Parliament Hill.

      As Elizabeth May puts it, the 1960s were an “extraordinary time”, when Liberals and New Democrats put the interests of the nation ahead of those of their political parties to create “the Canada we want”.

      That was when many of the country’s social safety nets, such as the Canada Pension Plan and universal health care, were put in place, the Saanich–Gulf Islands representative recalled.

      “One of the sort of Camelot eras of the Canadian Parliament was the government of Lester B. Pearson,” May told the Straight in a phone interview. “And it was a Camelot because it wasn’t a majority [government]. It was a [Liberal] minority government, and the opposition was the New Democratic Party.”

      According to May, all Canadians have to do is remember the Pearson years of the ’60s and try to convince current NDP Leader Tom Mulcair and the Liberals’ Justin Trudeau that if they cooperate in this year’s election to defeat Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper, Camelot may return.

      “That’s what I want out of the next election, whether it’s a Prime Minister Mulcair…or Prime Minister Trudeau,” May said.

      Although May acknowledged that New Democrats and Liberals aren’t willing to work with each other or with her Greens presently, she said she will keep reaching out to them, as she’s done in the past.

      “It’s something that could happen,” May said. “Certainly, there’s a lot of Canadians who think it should happen.”

      Comments

      17 Comments

      greenlogic

      Jan 28, 2015 at 10:18am

      Yup I bet she wants an accord, makes sense to me. Lizzie knows that this is not going to be an election with a narrative where people can comfortably park a protest vote with the Greens. It's going to be about stopping Harper or supporting him and with two seats in Parliament. Full stop.
      The other problem is her propensity to hand-pick and recruit candidates, none of which so far come up through the ranks of the Green Party, at least in ridings where there is any serious chance of success. Running Hyer and Manley, two former NDP malcontents is even a risky proposition. One is a floor-crosser over the gun registry the other unable to stand for nomination. How many protest votes or new votes can people with so much baggage bring ith them? The biggest irony of all is that NDP has promised to put an end to FPTP and a majority of Liberal members and MPs agree with some form of rep-by pop. If they were to form a coalition and make this the last election under FPTP, the Greens would be the biggest beneficiaries by far in 2019.
      Every vote a free vote (Green policy) doesn't give anyone consdiering voting Green much to hang their hat on at a time when so much is at stake - sorry but her plea for cooperation is cover for having to explain the fall-out later becuase anywhere outside of her own riding, voting Green this time is going to be the best thing that ever happened to Stephen Harper.

      ThisGuy

      Jan 28, 2015 at 10:20am

      "Let's cooperate! Oh, by the way, I'm running candidates against your incumbents, and really anywhere I think I can get a few a votes...Cooperation!"

      ron

      Jan 28, 2015 at 10:50am

      Just heard Tom Mulcair on CFAX saying that he takes the same position as jack Layton - and would form a coalition to make Parliament work.
      It was Iggy who foolishly destroyed the agreement of Layton and Dion - and let Harper commence his mean-spirited regime.

      Azaeleaprawn

      Jan 28, 2015 at 11:00am

      Unfortunately that accord can't happen with a bloated political ego like that of Thomas Mulcair who sees himself as princely PM material, and sees that as being far more important than the good of Canada. Mulcair just can't put his ego aside to stop Harper and put stopping the destruction of this country by these Neo Conservatives first on the agenda.

      Stefan

      Jan 28, 2015 at 11:26am

      In fairness, it takes at least two parties to cooperate. The Greens have been offering cooperation to the Liberals and NDP since at least the 2011 election, and have been consistently rebuffed (despite the desire of a large part of NDP and Liberal supporters for cooperation aimed at securing proportional representation). Does this mean the Greens should just give up on trying to elect some more members and let the stubbornness of the NDP and Liberals win the day? I would argue that it is by demonstrably taking a share of the vote that other parties might like to capture that the Green Party can build and exercise political influence (and since their platform is quite different than that of any other party, they are giving a choice to Canadian voters who might not otherwise see their views represented).

      Craig

      Jan 28, 2015 at 11:48am

      This is a ridiculous article based on a false premise. The NDP was not the official opposition in the Pearson minority government -- not even close. The PCs under John Diefenbaker were.

      Shepsil

      Jan 28, 2015 at 11:50am

      Politics is partisan and anyone suggesting otherwise has a distinct political agenda. As a fringe party, the Greens pretend that being non-partisan is in between left (progressive) & right (conservative) -- when in fact there are no values in the middle, just confused voters who are unsure of their true values. The Green Party's only purpose is to confuse naïve voters to vote for anyone, but the progressive option. They are quite simply agent provocateurs intended to deceive voters that Green is a political value.

      Democratic system change

      Jan 28, 2015 at 12:04pm

      The electoral system is a sham and the only way to ensure its change is for Mulcair to answer May's call and co-operate in winning seats. (50% Liberals including Trudeau are conservatives with regards to the electoral system so they cannot be relied upon right now.) He is being willfully ignorant if he think he can capture everyone's votes left of Harper alone.

      Jay Glorieux

      Jan 28, 2015 at 12:08pm

      Right, 'lizabeth!! The Liberals had a chance to take a Calgary by-election. The NDP ran a mediocre candidate but not the Greens.. they poured it on and a loser like Joan Lochartt won. Yeah, Lizzy, if it hadn't been for Paul Martin, you wouldn't have had the exposure you have today. Your credentials have come from the Conservative Party. I wouldn't trust you as far as I can throw you!!

      Chris Aikman

      Jan 28, 2015 at 12:14pm

      Let's set the record straight:
      At the 2012 National Convention of the GPC in Sidney, BC, three resolutions were passed to work cooperatively with other parties in the next federal election, provided they were committed to implementing a more proportional electoral system in the next parliament. Elizabeth May was given a strong mandate to work cooperatively toward that goal, and she has. Although strong voices in the LPC and NDP would support such cooperation, their leaders don't.

      So voters, you decide who you want to represent you.