Green Party of Canada leadership convention, 2006
Encyclopedia
Green Party of Canada
The Green Party of Canada is a Canadian federal political party founded in 1983 with 10,000–12,000 registered members as of October 2008. The Greens advance a broad multi-issue political platform that reflects its core values of ecological wisdom, social justice, grassroots democracy and...
constitution that there would be a leadership election
Leadership convention
In Canadian politics, a leadership convention is held by a political party when the party needs to choose a leader due to a vacancy or a challenge to the incumbent leader.- Overview :...
held August 24–27, 2006 in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
.
Leadership contests in the party were automatically held every two years (every four years under the new constitution, beginning 2006), and every member of the party is entitled to vote, whether or not they attend the convention. The party mails out ballots to all members to be returned for counting. This voting system also applies to council members and policy changes as well.
On April 24, 2006, incumbent party leader Jim Harris
Jim Harris (politician)
James R. M. "Jim" Harris is a Canadian author, environmentalist, and politician. He was leader of the Green Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006, when he was succeeded by Elizabeth May.-Early life and Green activism:...
announced he would not be running for re-election.
The race was won by Elizabeth May
Elizabeth May
Elizabeth Evans May, OC, MP is an American-born Canadian Member of Parliament, environmentalist, writer, activist, lawyer, and the leader of the Green Party of Canada. She was the executive director of the Sierra Club of Canada from 1989 to 2006. She became a Canadian citizen in 1978.May's...
on August 26, 2006.
Rules
Among other rules:Each candidate must file a nomination form signed by 100 candidate nominators residing in 3 or more provinces or territories. Only 50 nominators are required if the candidate lives in a rural Electoral District as defined by Elections Canada
Elections Canada
Elections Canada is an independent, non-partisan agency reporting directly to the Parliament of Canada. Its ongoing responsibility is to ensure that Canadians can exercise their choices in federal elections and referenda through an open and impartial process...
.
Each candidate must pay a fully refundable $1000 prospective contestant's deposit. Their campaign must also pay a non-refundable $1,000 contestant fee to cover party administration costs.
Each candidate may spend a maximum of $50,000 on their campaign.
Every registered member of the party can vote for the leader either at the convention, or by mail-in ballot.
Registered candidates
Three candidates officially entered the leadership race before the close of nominations on May 31, 2006.David Chernushenko
Chernushenko was the Green Party candidate for Ottawa Centre
Ottawa Centre
Ottawa Centre is an urban federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1968...
in both the 2004
Canadian federal election, 2004
The Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections...
and 2006 general federal elections
Canadian federal election, 2006
The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...
. In the 2006 election, he received 6,766 votes (10.2% of valid ballots cast) - the highest vote count of any Green Party candidate (though not the highest percentage of votes). By surpassing the 10% threshold, Chernushenko's campaign became eligible for a partial government reimbursement of campaign expenditures.
Chernushenko has twice been endorsed by the Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa Citizen
The Ottawa Citizen is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Canada. According to the Canadian Newspaper Association, the paper had a 2008 weekly circulation of 900,197.- History :...
. Chernushenko finished fourth in both the 2004 and 2006 races despite the endorsements.
David Chernushenko's nomination was confirmed by the party on May 16, 2006.
Elizabeth May
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Elizabeth May
Elizabeth Evans May, OC, MP is an American-born Canadian Member of Parliament, environmentalist, writer, activist, lawyer, and the leader of the Green Party of Canada. She was the executive director of the Sierra Club of Canada from 1989 to 2006. She became a Canadian citizen in 1978.May's...
, the former Executive Director of the Sierra Club of Canada
Sierra Club of Canada
Sierra Club Canada is a Canadian, volunteer-based environmental organization. It is part of the environmental movement.The roots of Sierra Club Canada go back to 1963, when environmentalists in British Columbia affiliated themselves with the Sierra Club of the United States...
, announced her run for the leadership on May 9, 2006. It had been widely speculated that she would enter. Other candidates including Claude Genest
Claude Genest
Claude William Genest is a former Canadian journalist, actor, and TV host. He ran as the Green Party of Canada candidate in the riding of Westmount-Ville-Marie during the 2008 federal election.-Biography:...
(who had already entered the race on February 2) had dropped out citing May's likely entry.
In her announcement, May emphasized that Canadian parties in general have failed to lead, and claimed that she would "never" come out sounding like she'd been "packaged" by anyone else. She cited the sexism of current Canadian politics, mentioning that "four men in suits" were debating issues of no significance, and that Canadians were expected to "become stupid" and behave as if they were at a "horse race" where the issues didn't matter at all.
Elizabeth May's campaign has had some issues raised about financing as reported on Public Eye Online. Basically, the article says that there was an error with May's website as it listed her tar sands tour as a campaign event. If the tour were a campaign event, the article claimed that then the expenses associated with the tour should be counted towards her $50,000 campaign limit.
May's supporters include Jim MacNeill
Jim MacNeill
James 'Jim' William MacNeill, OC is a Canadian consultant, environmentalist, and international public servant....
, Secretary General of the World Commission for Environment and Development (the Brundtland Commission); Clifford Lincoln
Clifford Lincoln
Clifford Albert Lincoln is a retired Canadian politician who served as a Quebec cabinet minister prior to serving in the Canadian House of Commons....
, former Minister of Environment for the Province of Quebec, and former Liberal Member of Parliament; Adriane Carr
Adriane Carr
Adriane Carr is a Canadian academic, activist and politician with the Green Party in British Columbia and Canada. She is also a Councillor-elect on Vancouver City Council. She was a founding member and the Green Party of British Columbia's first leader from 1983 to 1985, whereafter the party...
, Leader of the British Columbia Green Party; Peter Downie, former CBC broadcaster Claude Genest
Claude Genest
Claude William Genest is a former Canadian journalist, actor, and TV host. He ran as the Green Party of Canada candidate in the riding of Westmount-Ville-Marie during the 2008 federal election.-Biography:...
; prominent Green Party leader in Quebec; Sharon Labchuk
Sharon Labchuk
Sharon Labchuk is an environmental activist and paid staffer for the Green Party of Canada. In the 2006 federal election she was the GPC candidate in Malpeque, placing 4th with 901 votes or 4.65%...
, Leader of the Green Party of Prince Edward Island; Holly Dressel, co-author of several best selling books with Dr. David Suzuki; Senator Mira Spivak
Mira Spivak
Mira Spivak is a former member of the Canadian Senate representing the province of Manitoba.Born in Rivne, Ukraine , Spivak received a Bachelor of Arts, Honours Degree in Political Science and Philosophy from the University of Manitoba.She was appointed to the Senate on the recommendation of...
; Lynette Tremblay, Deputy Leader Green Party of Canada; Stephen Woollcombe, formerly an active Conservative Party member and a Progressive Conservative candidate in the federal elections of 2000;Victor Lau
Victor Lau
Victor Lau is the current leader of the Green Party of Saskatchewan, elected following the resignation of Larissa Shasko. He has been leader once previously, and was Deputy Leader under Shasko....
, Leader of the Green Party of Saskatchewan. Honorary Campaign Chair: Robert Bateman
Robert Bateman
Robert Bateman may refer to:people* Robert Bateman , painter, sculptor, naturalist, and scholar* Robert Bateman * Robert Bateman , Canadian wildlife artist and naturalist...
Elizabeth May's nomination was confirmed by the party on May 29, 2006.
Jim Fannon
Jim Fannon
Jim Fannon , is a Canadian politician, radio talk show host, entrepreneur, and real estate agent in St. Catharines. He campaigned for the leadership of the Green Party of Canada in 2006....
is a real estate agent at RE/MAX
RE/MAX
RE/MAX International is an international real estate company. It was founded in 1973 by David and Gail Liniger in Denver, Colorado, and is still owned by its founders. RE/MAX is an acronym for Real Estate MAXimum....
Garden City Realty and founder of Nature's Hemp, a company that sells hemp seed, oil, nut, flour and protein powder. He is a former candidate for both the Green Party of Canada (1993, 2004, 2006) and Green Party of Ontario (2003) and is currently Chief Financial Officer for the Green Party of Ontario's St. Catharines Constituency Association.
Jim Fannon's nomination was confirmed by the party on May 31, 2006.
At the leadership convention, Fannon gave what The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
called "one of the wackiest leadership speeches ever", constantly wiping sweat away from his face, thanking his mother and his dogsitter, and referring to his leadership opponent as "Elizabeth freakin' May".
Timeline
- March 29, 2006: Bruce Abel, GPC Chair announces the leadership contest.
- March 30, 2006: David Chernushenko announces his candidacy.
- April 26, 2006: Jim HarrisJim HarrisJim Harris may refer to:* Jim Harris , American novelist, author of A Bottle of Rain* Jim Harris , American children's book illustrator* Jim Harris , American naturalist...
announces he will be stepping down as leader. - May 9, 2006: Elizabeth MayElizabeth MayElizabeth Evans May, OC, MP is an American-born Canadian Member of Parliament, environmentalist, writer, activist, lawyer, and the leader of the Green Party of Canada. She was the executive director of the Sierra Club of Canada from 1989 to 2006. She became a Canadian citizen in 1978.May's...
announces her candidacy. - May 31, 2006: Nominations for party leader close with three registered candidates.
- June 14, 2006: French-language leadership candidates' debate in MontrealMontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. - June 21, 2006: English-language leadership candidates' debate in CalgaryCalgaryCalgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
. - August 24, 2006: Beginning of leadership and policy convention in OttawaOttawaOttawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
. - August 26, 2006: Party leadership vote at convention.
- August 27, 2006: End of leadership and policy convention.
Results
The Green Party of Canada uses an instant-runoff votingInstant-runoff voting
Instant-runoff voting , also known as preferential voting, the alternative vote and ranked choice voting, is a voting system used to elect one winner. Voters rank candidates in order of preference, and their ballots are counted as one vote for their first choice candidate. If a candidate secures a...
ballot system for internal elections. The 2006 leadership election was decided on the following “first ballot” results:
| Candidate | Votes | |
|---|---|---|
| # | % | |
| Elizabeth May | 2,145 | 65.34 |
| David Chernushenko | 1,096 | 33.38 |
| Jim Fannon | 29 | 0.88 |
| None of the above | 13 | 0.40 |
| Total | 3,283 | 100.0% |
Current policy debates
The Green Party of Canada's official platform for the January 2006 federal electionCanadian federal election, 2006
The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...
can be found on the party website.
Indications of future policy direction under May's leadership might be found in videos of the leadership debates posted on the CPAC website (see below).
External links
Candidate websites
Miscellaneous video
Complete CPAC broadcast of official leadership debates (Windows Media PlayerWindows Media Player
Windows Media Player is a media player and media library application developed by Microsoft that is used for playing audio, video and viewing images on personal computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system, as well as on Pocket PC and Windows Mobile-based devices...
required)
- June 14, 2006 French-Language Leadership Debate in Montreal
- June 14, 2006 French-Language Leadership Debate in Montreal (with English overdubbing)
- June 21, 2006 English-Language Leadership Debate in Calgary
- June 21, 2006 English-Language Leadership Debate in Calgary (with French overdubbing)
PolicyChannel leadership candidate interviews