NDP, Greens trade barbs in battle for key ridings

VICTORIA B.C.’s Green and New Democrat parties may be power-sharing friends at in the legislature, but their federal counterparts are fighting an increasingly nasty war of words in the final days of the election campaign as they jockey to win key Vancouver Island ridings.

The Greens have complained that the NDP has been “dishonest” and “disgraceful” by blanketing the southern part of the Island with flyers that question whether the Greens will defend a woman’s right to access safe abortions, and whether the party will oppose budget cuts to services proposed by the federal Conservatives.

“Does the Green party really share your values?” reads the pamphlet, which includes quotes suggesting the Greens would prop up a minority Tory government.

May has called the flyers a misinformation campaign and demanded an apology from NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh.

“I think many voters find it dispiriting that the NDP feels so threatened that they’ve resorted to smears and throwing mud,” May said Thursday.

“It’s not something Canadians want.”

May said it’s clear the NDP is worried about losing some of the five seats it currently holds on the Island.

“If they weren’t running scared, why else would they be spending so much money?” she said.

“I had two full-colour brochures awaiting me in my mailbox with quotes around words I’ve never said. This is disappointing. I thought more of Mr. Singh.”

The NDP is simply “drawing a contrast” by quoting May’s words while comparing those positions with how the NDP is unwilling to support a minority Conservative government or allow any MPs to vote against abortion rights, said B.C. NDP campaign director Glen Sanford.

“What’s happened here is we’ve quoted the Greens to remind people where they stand, and that’s part of any election campaign,” he said.

“That doesn’t normally make people go ballistic. But in this case, the Green party is going ballistic because we’re using their own quotes. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced that kind of response in a political campaign. But the Greens have never experienced this kind of scrutiny.”

May has said protecting women’s rights is a core value all Greens are expected to uphold, and that she’ll participate in talks after an election with any elected politicians.

Vancouver Island’s seven ridings could be crucial for the NDP and Greens in deciding the balance of power should the Liberals or Conservatives win a minority government on Monday.

The NDP won six of the seven Island ridings in the 2015 election.

May is expected to easily hold her Saanich- Gulf Islands riding.

The Green-NDP feud centres around the South Island ridings of Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke and Victoria, which are considered tight three- or four-way races.

Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke will be hotly contested, after the Green party’s Paul Manley beat the NDP in a byelection earlier this year.

May spent Thursday touring from Campbell River to Ladysmith.

Singh is set to visit Port Alberni today.

The NDP-Green feud may be surprising to voters because, provincially, the B.C. Greens are in a power-sharing deal with the B.C. NDP.

May said B.C. Greens should be reminded of a basic lesson: The NDP isn’t the Green party’s friend when the chips are down in a campaign for votes.