Greens could be 100 candidates short of full slate: party sources

The Green Party could be roughly 100 candidates short of a full slate in this month’s federal election, the latest blow to leader Annamie Paul’s attempts to reshape the party.

The candidate tally currently stands at about 240, but might notch up slightly as disputes with Elections Canada over signature disqualifications are settled, according to three senior party sources who were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. “We expect that we are going to fall short of a full slate of candidates. By how much we’re still determining,” Paul told reporters Wednesday.

The Greens had banked on furnishing a full roster of 338 candidates, preparing a strategy last December to make that goal a reality.

The sources said a lack of resources from party executives to send staff across the country and collect local nomination signatures frustrated the effort.

Paul said turmoil within the party as well as the COVID-19 pandemic and the search for a more diverse array of candidates threw up hurdles to a swift nomination process across Canada.

“We had enough candidates step forward for a full slate, and then we ran into challenges in terms of collecting signatures in all the ridings, particularly remote ridings or ridings where we’re dependent upon seniors who volunteer with us who are very nervous in provinces like Alberta and out west where COVID numbers are spiking,” Paul said.

“It’s no secret that we’ve had our own distractions internally, which certainly made it more difficult for us to get to that full slate. “We also took a little more time getting off the ground with our nominations in order to make sure that we were more diverse and inclusive,” she said.