We won 350,000 votes or 8% of the popular vote in Ontario, nearly tripling our support from 2003. We also increased our membership threefold. We finished third or better in 18 ridings, ahead of NDP and PC candidates. Twenty-one of our candidates garnered more than 10% of the vote, while our top three earned more than 15%. Our best showing was in Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound, where Shane Jolley captured 33% for a very strong second-place finish — the best result ever for any provincial or federal Green candidate in Canada. We have raised our status from fringe party to serious contender.
Although the Greens are far from being a "serious contender", i'm wondering if it's time to remove the fringe party label. Although it's true that their leader has little name recognition, the party won no seats, and the Greens are still very much a paper organization in many corners of the province, there is clearly a distinction between this minor party and the other fringe parties in Ontario.
What do you think? Are the Greens still fringe?
6 comments:
The refusal of Jack Layton to talk with May is proof that the NDP knows Greens are past "fringe" status.
Fringe Certainly not, 8% without a debate appearance is pretty damn good, Had more of the population know our policies, especially about the far too important school funding issue we probably would have closed within a few points of 3 place provincially
serious contender, not quite, I'm party faithfull but not delusional, we will not form a government any time soon but we certainly have earned the right to be heard(debates) and seats will be in our near future. We will widen our base, bring new ideas forward and probably bring people to the polls who stopped or never started voting.
That's not to say other parties will not continue marginalize us but I think a turning point in the election was when Hampton attacked the Green policy(mind you it was out right lies rathter than Criticism) but that broke the NDP policy of "ignore them they will go away" When the other parites attack you they admit you are not fringe and have to be reconned with.
The NDP is often referred to by Liberals as a fringe party. I guess it all depends on who is doing the defining. I wouldn't consider it a fringe party if we had a proper electoral system. With first past the post, it most definitely is. That isn't the Green's fault. It is the result of our screwed up democracy.
Okay, but none of this changes the fact that not a single Green candidate has ever been elected federally or provincially in Canada. Other fringes parties have at least managed this feat (Progressive Democratic Alliance in BC, Confederation of Regions Party in New Brunswick, Alberta Alliance in Alberta to name a few examples). Isn't winning a single seat soemwhere a necessary obstacle, among others, to clear before one can realistically be considered anything other than fringe?
I think our electoral system really prevents the Green's from being a serious electoral contender. This alone keeps them outside the realm of 'mainstream' parties. (Well, exclusion from the debates isn't helping the matter).
My question is if the Progressive Democratic Alliance, Confederation of Regions Party, and Alberta Alliance candidates were elected on the strength of the Party Platform or the Individual Candidate. If it was a Candidate that got elected, is that a kin to an independent being elected?
I guess my point is that we should counterbalance an 8% popularity across Ontario with a single seat elected in one riding (with a provincial popularity of what I would suspect to be less than 4%)
It is probably true that the PDA was elected on the strength of the individual candidate, but CoR formed official opposition and the ALberta Alliance candidate was not a star candidate.
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