Good Sunday Morning and Happy Palm Sunday!
And to all in the Jewish Community Chag Pesach Sameach!! Last night was the first night and deeply meaningful Passover Seder.
This election is in many ways colliding with deeply significant religious events — across the main theistic religions. For Muslims it is the end of Ramadan, for the Jewish community, Passover, and for Christians, Holy Week.
The ways things collide can be so unfortunate. I was very honoured to receive the endorsement of my candidacy from MuslimVote, but it was unfortunately posted to social media by the Green Party staff on the first night of Passover. Apologies. We got it taken down out of respect for the deep trauma of the time since the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023. At the same time I am honoured that the Muslim community recognizes that while I was the only MP to succeed in getting through a unanimous Parliamentary motion condemning all forms of antisemitism in Canada, I can stand in solidarity with Palestinians.
But really hard for me and many others is that the advance voting, as noted in last week’s letter, takes place between Good Friday and Easter Monday. Four days of advance voting on the most significant and sacred days of the Christian calendar. For all my dear non-Christian friends out there, for perspective, Christmas is nothing compared to Easter in terms of its theological significance. Anyway, all are welcome in the Green Party, and most of my best friends and (family!) are atheists. Well, thank heavens I have faith. Belief in the impossible is a good attribute for Greens! So Hosanna on the Highest. Wave those palms.
Meanwhile, we have such great candidates. My whistle-stop tour from Montreal to Moncton was such fun. Our former candidate and old friend from Yellowknife was on board, another candidate from New Brunswick joined for the whole trip and we had gatherings of folks at various stops, plus a big event in Fredericton for Pam Allen-Leblanc!
Friday was a day I do not want to live through again — waking up in Fredericton a bit after midnight BC time, to fly cross country to get to BC for an event in Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke for Ben Homer-Dixon. A great event, thanks to all who came. My indomitable road team, Stuart Mackinnon (yes that Stuart Mackinnon — of Van Parks Board) is now my official driver and Aysha Emmerson is the wrangler to keep us on time and handling the zillion media requests as we truck along. By early Saturday we were on the 9-ish ferry from Nanaimo to Gabriola, with Paul Manly and a team of canvassers. Paul is rising rapidly in the polls, gaining on the Conservatives. We held a fantastic town hall and answered questions for hours. The race is close. The Conservatives are only ahead by a few points as Paul closes the gap. I am still running first in SGI but the Conservatives are gaining. People who are confused about how to keep the Conservatives from winning in SGI think it makes sense to vote (so-called) ‘strategically’. In SGI it is a two-way race between me and the Conservatives. Voting Liberal only helps the Conservatives. Please encourage your friends to stay calm and vote Green. (unless they want a Conservative MP, which is their choice in a democracy.) I have so much work to do in Parliament and close to home. No one else running in SGI has the skills to do the work. Later today is the first SGI all-candidates debate on Pender Island. A full list of such meetings and our own Green zoom meetings is in the P.S. and here,
On today’s Cross Country Checkup, the CBC is asking Canadians, “Does Canadian military spending need to change? Will it affect your vote?” Please send them your concerns. Should we be spending more on the military, or do things like climate, protecting old growth, social justice, and Indigenous reconciliation matter more?
Please let them know we care about the forgotten issues in this election: CLIMATE! Indigenous Reconciliation!
And then there is this depressing Liberal news: Canada will no longer cover travel costs of experts it nominates to UN’s climate science body — CBC News.
My oh my, Parliament needs Greens to be elected more than ever!
For now, peace love and gratitude!
Love,
Elizabeth
P.S.
Upcoming!
April 14 Monday @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Berwick Royal Oak All Candidates Meet and Greet (Residents ONLY)
Berwick Theatre 4680 Elk Lake Drive, Saanich, BC, Canada
April 14 Monday @ 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Zoom Town Hall with Elizabeth May RSVP
April 15 Tuesday @ 10:00 am – 11:30 pm
Reynolds High School All Candidates Debate (Students ONLY)
Reynolds High 3963 Borden St, Victoria, BC, Canada
Room TBD
April 15 Tuesday @ 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm
Salt Spring Island All Candidates Debate
Fulford Hall 2591 Fulford-Ganges Rd, Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada
April 18 Friday 9:00 am – April 21 @ 9:00 pm
Vote in advance polls
April 19 Saturday @ 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Big rally for Paul Manly in Nanaimo with Jonathan Pedneault and me!
• Date: Saturday April 19, 2025
• Time: 4PM – 6PM PST (Perfect for our friends in Central and Atlantic Canada to join!)
• Location: Vancouver Island Conference Centre (101 Gordon St, Nanaimo) & online
RSVP:
• In-Person Attendance: Please sign up in advance to reserve your seat!
• Online Attendance: We’ll share a link to the livestream via email once it is available.
April 19 Saturday @ 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Saanich Inlet Protection Society All Candidates Meeting
Cedar Room, Saanichton Fairgrounds 1528 Stellys Cross Rd, Saanichton, BC, Canada
April 22 Tuesday
Deadline to vote by mail
You will vote using the special ballot process.
April 23 Wednesday @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
North Saanich Residents Association All Candidates DebateSaanich Peninsula Presbyterian Church 9296 E Saanich Rd, North Saanich, BC, Canada
April 25 Friday @ 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Zoom Town Hall with Elizabeth May
RSVP
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Please send your feedback on this newsletter to [email protected].
Saanich-Gulf Island Greens publish two newsletters:
- The monthly SGI Greens Newsletter
- The weekly Good Sunday Morning — Elizabeth May’s perspective
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Our archive of past editions is at sgi.edagreens.ca/news-events.
Saanich-Gulf Islands Greens
https://www.sgigreenparty.ca/