Rumours are running at a high pitch that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is likely to call five by-elections today. The following electoral districts currently do not have any Member of Parliament due to four resignations and one death: Winnipeg South Centre, Portage-Lisgar, Calgary Heritage, Oxford and Notre-Dame-de-Grace-Westmount. We are gearing up with four out of five candidates getting ready to roll. Two are publicly announced – Doug Hemmerling in Winnipeg and Ravenmoon Crocker in Calgary.
Doug has run before and I hope to get to Winnipeg soon to give his campaign a boost. We will have an exciting candidate in Montreal in what was Marc Garneau’s seat – Notre-Dame-de-Grace-Westmount. Our mobilizing team has been hard at work as have the EDA executives in those five districts.
If the writ does drop today, we will be in a very rushed 5-week push to make a real difference in these five campaigns. Ideally, we will elect new Green MPs. Remember that Paul Manly won election the first time in a by-election. So did Hannah Bell in Prince Edward Island. And my first time running as leader of the GPC, the political landscape changed when we went from 5% in the 2006 general election to 26% and second place when I ran ten months later in the by-election in London North Centre. Anything can happen in a by-election, so please watch for news today.
And please go to the campaign websites and offer help – whether for phone canvassing, door to door, or by making donations. Every little bit helps.
Last week’s letter had a postscript from dedicated Green, former President of the GPC and one of the volunteer team that helps me put out this weekly missive. Bob MacKie shared the good news of the Liberal convention passing the policy motion in favour of a Citizens Assembly on Electoral Reform.
In less than twenty four hours, Justin Trudeau was, predictably, shooting it down. “The fact is,” he said, “there is no consensus.”
Mike Morrice and I both made electoral reform our priority this week in Question Period.
On Monday, I asked:
“This motion calls for a national nonpartisan citizens assembly to find that consensus….Is consensus defined by the Prime Minister as including himself, otherwise there is no consensus?”
On Wednesday, Mike put the question directly to the Prime Minister:
Mike asked, “if not Canadians, and if not his own party, who else does the Prime Minister need to hear from before he’s ready to act?”
Elizabeth May: PM must fulfill electoral reform commitments
Mike Morrice: Keeping promises on electoral reform
I am so grateful for all the notes and feedback many of you send.
For all those mothers out there, Happy Mothers Day! Let us recall the original Mother’s Day was not of the Hallmark card variety, but to stand with mothers against war. Let’s celebrate it today as a day to thank our Mother Earth – for the abundance of Creation.
And as I am enjoying time with family this weekend, a shorter letter! Much love and Happy Mother’s Day!
Elizabeth
P.S.
Elizabeth speaks to urgency of Red Dress Day
Elizabeth calls out Imperial Oil over tailing ponds