Greens looking to build with broader platform
The higher cost of living shouldn't limit the Green party's hopes to build on its breakthrough win in the last provincial election.
Ontario voters who might have made the environment a priority in 2018 now face the worst inflation in 30 years, soaring house and energy prices and the spectre of a pandemic resurgence in autumn.
The Greens know they need an answer for those issues to attract and retain voters, said Cristine De Clercy, a Western University political scientist.
For a political entity centred on a single issue — the environment and climate change — the Greens have a “pretty comprehensive” platform that shows they're no one-trick party, she said.
“When voters think of the Greens, they might be perceiving an older version of the Greens than what currently exists in Ontario,” De Clercy said Tuesday.
“There are a couple of interesting things going on with the Greens in this election that might help the party to grow its base and pull supporters in — even in a context where there is rampant inflation and much concern about the economy.”
The Ontario Greens won their first seat in the 2018 election with party Leader Mike Schreiner taking the Guelph seat in an open race.
Schreiner, who is seeking a second term, held his own at Monday night's provincial leaders' debate, De Clercy said.
“The Greens have an articulate and competent leader, and that's obviously important,” she said.
“With a pretty good communicator at the helm, I think they do have some opportunity to explain to Ontarians their view that ... we can balance competing objectives around environmental protection and sustainability with other things like caring for people and investing in health care and education.”
The Greens may attract voters who are uninspired by the Liberal and New Democrat leaders, said Mark Winfield, a professor at York University.
The Greens offer voters big picture policies that will boost affordability in the long run, Winfield added.
“They'll have to convey a more complicated set of messages that are about reducing costs in the longer term as opposed to the very short term,” he said.
“It might not be a bad thing. It does help them differentiate themselves from the other parties. They're presenting a different, longer-term vision as opposed to just trying to oust Doug Ford.”
The Greens want to offer free tuition to 60,000 students training for trade jobs in the green economy, improve wages and working conditions for health care providers and target speculation in the housing market, Schreiner has said.
“What we've been really trying to show is how we can address the climate crisis by reducing pollution while at the same time addressing people's real affordability concerns,” he said.
“We're putting forward new solutions to old problems, especially when it comes to addressing people's affordability concerns, health-care capacity concerns and addressing the climate crisis in a way that prepares Ontario to be a global leader in the emerging market of the new climate economy.”