In November of last year, Elizabeth May announced she would step down as leader after being at the helm of the Green Party for more than a decade. Enter Annamie Paul; an activist, lawyer, and international affairs expert from Toronto, who recently clinched the party’s leadership after a tough contest against eight other candidates. A little less than three weeks into the job, Ms. Paul ran in the by-election of Toronto Centre and had a strong showing, despite having lost to Liberal candidate Marci Ien. Even as runner-up, Annamie Paul’s recent entry into federal politics seems to be turning a lot of heads.
Branding the new leader
There is no doubt that Paul will need to build her brand, as she is still relatively unknown to Canadians outside of the Toronto area. This could prove to be difficult for her, as she has yet to be elected and will not get to showcase her skills in the House of Commons anytime soon. That being said, it is possible she could look to one of the three sitting Green MPs (including Elizabeth May) to step down, in order to let her run in their stead so that she can lead the Green Caucus in Parliament. Sources close to the campaign have said that Paul is willing to run anywhere in the country where she might have a viable chance of winning a seat, not just Toronto where she is from.
In the meantime, the new Green leader will need to keep working the media circuit both locally and nationally to get her message out and raise her profile. She’s already had a lot of media attention this past month and is likely to pop up more often in weekly political shows on major national television or radio networks.
Potential kingmaker role
While the Greens only have a few seats in the House of Commons, they can still play the role of kingmaker in Parliament, particularly when it comes to confidence votes that could trigger an election. A few weeks ago, we saw the Conservative Party and Bloc Québecois team up on an opposition motion that left the NDP in an awkward position. While the NDP ended up voting against the motion, one option under consideration for NDP MPs was to abstain from voting, which would have given power to the Greens and Independents to sway the vote in one way or the other. Sources tell us that Ms. Paul will have no problem being the “decider’’ should an opportunity arise, but that “horse trading” will likely not be her preferred approach when dealing with the Liberals. Instead, she will focus on promoting a common ground approach that is in the best interest of all Canadians.
A one-trick pony?
Most Canadians think the Green Party only really focuses on climate change and the environment. While these issues are certainly a major part of the platform, a closer look reveals that the Greens are bringing other bold policy ideas to the table, including guaranteed livable income (GLI). The pandemic has exposed gaps in our social safety net, and sources close to Annamie Paul say she will make GLI one of her top priorities and would like to see the feds consider at least a pilot project on the matter. Instead of plugging holes to fix the problem with CERB benefits and EI, GLI could provide Canadians with a basic revenue source, ensuring that everyone can cover basic expenses such as food and accommodation. Annamie Paul has also stated that any public funds utilized to bail out a sector or a private corporation during the pandemic should be justified and conditional on the basis that “people come first” when deciding on whether to bail out a sector or not.
With that being said, only time will tell if the Green Party under its new leadership will breakthrough and emerge as a contender in the next election. One thing is certain though, Annamie Paul’s inspiring leadership style is already starting to attract hundreds of volunteers and plenty of financial support to help mount a decent election campaign should there be one in the near future. Learn more about Annamie Paul by clicking here.
