Green leader vows to bring different tone to Queen’s Park
Ontario’s first Green Party legislator has been sworn in at Queen’s Park, promising to help change the culture of politics in the province.
Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner, 49, made history when he handily won his Guelph riding in the June election.
He took the brief oath of office at Queen’s Park on Thursday in front of dozens of supporters and vowed to bring a different tone and approach to his work in the legislature.
“I’m going to do politics differently,” he said. “I campaigned on a promise to create jobs, put people and planet first. I’m going to keep fighting for that.”
Schreiner, who has led the provincial Greens since 2009, won the riding with 45 per cent of the vote, vaulting from a third-place finish in the 2014 election.
He acknowledged it’s been a fight to get his party into the legislature, but credited his team of supporters and candidates across the province for helping lead him to victory.
Born and raised in a farm in Kansas, Schreiner came to Canada in 1994 when his wife became a professor at the University of Toronto. He moved to Guelph a few years ago after working in the southwestern Ontario city for years.
Schreiner campaigned on a platform that promised to move Ontario to 100 per cent renewable energy and wants to close the nuclear energy plant in Pickering.
Schreiner said Thursday he has written Premier Doug Ford to ask for a meeting and plans to address a number of issues including the Tory government’s decision to scrap cap-and-trade.
“I think the premier is being reckless in eliminating carbon pricing without having an alternative plan in place,” he said.