Green candidates say voters more receptive to their message

OTTAWA — The rhythm and rituals of a federal election campaign are nothing new for Bruce Hyer, but he’s getting a decidedly different reception these days on the doorsteps of northern Ontario.

For one thing, the secondtime Green candidate says he rarely encounters people who refuse to believe greenhousegas emissions are altering the global climate.

“Now that’s a big change. Four years ago, there were a lot of climate-change deniers And now ... well, there are very few,” he said in an interview. “And the discussion is more about what should we do about it? What will it cost to fix it?”

Hyer is one of several returning Green candidates who say the party’s new-found political momentum — bolstered by public concern about preserving the planet — has voters showing more interest in their pitches this time around.

The longtime environmentalist and ecotourism business operator defected to the Greens in 2013 after being elected twice for the NDP. In Thunder BaySuperior North, he is trying to topple Patty Hajdu, who won handily for the Liberals in the 2015 federal election.

Since then, a number of Green politicians have been elected at the provincial level, even forming the official Opposition on Prince Edward Island.

The federal party is galvanizing support with leader Elizabeth May’s uncompromising message that it is time to move rapidly toward sustainable energy sources to stave off the disastrous effects of global warming.

At the same time, it appears the party — despite its name — is also shedding the image of a one-note outfit concerned solely with environmental issues. The Greens have long presented policies on a wide array of issues, from education to housing, but voters now seem to be paying more attention.

The party proposes tens of billions of dollars in tax increases, and nearly as much in increased spending. It would cancel a multibillion-dollar contract to sell armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia and seek to ban autonomous weapons. It would decriminalize all drug possession.

It would spend one per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product on child care and make college and university tuitionfree.

There’s a great deal there that isn’t directly related to the environment, and candidates say they’re finding that potential supporters want to know more about what the party would do on such issues.

“A lot of people are asking me more in-depth questions about what the Greens stand for, what our platform is,” Hyer said.

“I’m getting very specific questions on the platform — I like that.”

Catriona Wright, the Green nominee for Calgary Rocky Ridge, notes a greater awareness of the party and its policies in the Conservative-held riding.

“We are seen, generally, as more of a contender this time,” said Wright, who works in marketing.

“People are aware that we exist. Whereas last time I think I was letting people know, ‘We exist, we do exist.’”

In the 2015 campaign, former journalist Jo-Ann Roberts ran as a Green in Victoria and finished a solid second to the NDP, before moving to Nova Scotia to be close to family.

This time she’s running in the riding of Halifax, where the Greens attracted just over three per cent of the vote in 2015.

Donations are flowing in the door and about two dozen lawn signs are heading out each day, said Roberts, the party’s deputy leader. Her campaign has some 200 volunteers.

“I feel an energy that wasn’t there last time, and I was in an amazing riding and we were doing extremely well,” she said. “It’s a huge difference.” Roberts welcomes deeper scrutiny of the party’s platform as a sign voters are taking the Greens more seriously.