4 May 2011 | Tierney Smith
Legislation, North America

 

Elizabeth May, environmental lawyer and leader of Canada’s Green Party, has become the country’s first Green MP.

Unseating Conservative Cabinet Minister Gary Lunn, May, the party’s ninth leader, won the seat in British Columbia’s Saanich-Gulf Islands (SGI) District, taking the party to its highest national profile to date.

Although party leader, May was excluded from 2011 election debates due to a lack of seats in parliament, something the Green Party blamed for the overall drop in votes.

Speaking at a victory rally, May said: “Despite this, the Green Party achieved our goal for 2011. We now sit in Parliament. On this foundation we will build and we will show Canadians there is a real alternative to the old parties. The Green Party will continue to grow, addressing the critical issues the other parties ignore.”

However, May will join the first Conservative majority government in years. With 39.6 per cent of the vote, the Conservative party won 167 seats in parliament. This will mean a battle for May when it comes to issues including climate change and the controversial Alberta tar sands oil extraction.

However, when questioned by Canadian broadcaster CBC News about how much change one MP could make, May responded: “I don’t even want to quote Pierre Trudeau (former Canadian Prime Minister), but ‘Just watch me.’”

The Green Party did come under criticism for their election campaign. Receiving 3.9 per cent of the national vote (574,922 votes) the party was down from 2008 when they received a 6.8 per cent share.

This was blamed on the party putting all their resources into one candidate in order to make history by gaining a seat in Parliament, despite parties needing 12 elected members to gain official status in the House of Commons.

Despite this the result was a historical moment for both May and the Party, in what she called the most inspiring story of the elections.

Elizabeth May, though born in the US was raised in Nova Scotia. She became party leader in 2006, and has a CV which includes co-founding the Canadian Environmental Defence Fund and Friends of the Earth Canada, as well as being senior policy advisor to federal Environmental Minister Tom McMillan from 1986.

 

Image: Idzafineday | flickr

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