Ask-The-Contestants!
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"I've been a member for awhile now and the last election nearly drove me away, with the lack of coordination and a third of the ridings not having candidates.
As leader, how would you ensure that we have candidates in all ridings? Do you see that as critical?
Given that we've never won more than three MPs in an election, how do you propose to put us in a good position to win the magic twelve needed for official party status, or at least more than four, next time?
Will you do a big push to be elected, personally, as an MP and if so how? Will you go to a riding that is 'winnable' or fight in your local one?"
- John Northey, London North EDA
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Conversation with Chad Walcott
Thank you for your question John,
Anna and I believe it is crucial to run candidates in all 338 ridings. In order to do this as well as increase our ability to elect more than 3 MPs, we need to do the work needed inside the party to rebuild faith within our membership and also do the necessary work to rebuild trust and faith within the Canadian electorate.
We plan to do this by rebuilding relationships with Non-Profit organizations that align with our policy priorities. Once we rebuild those relationships we would like to help move the needle on these policies by running parallel issue-based campaigns through the central Party and local EDAs. Once Canadians see that the Green Party of Canada can effectively make policy gains for our allies, we believe it will go a long way in elevating the trust the electorate places in us. This process will also likely open the door to attracting strong candidates
In addition, we plan to launch a campaign training school called the “Green Leaders Network”. This initiative will bring together 3-4 members from at least 60 EDAs to participate in a Campaign School, run by the GPC. The purpose of the program will be to instill these EDA representatives with the necessary skills and knowledge to run high-ambition campaigns in the next election. In addition to this program, we plan to allow EDAs to nominate candidates well in advance of the election. We believe that if we can identify and nominate candidates at least 1 year prior to an election, it will go a long way in giving our candidates a chance to become known entities in their communities and allow them to build the base of support they will need to win.
We believe that taking these actions will give us a solid foundation on which we can launch enough strong campaigns to elect 12 MPs and obtain official Party status, which in turn will help ensure that the Green Party of Canada is in a position to affect the balance of power in the House of Commons.
Hi again John.
In reviewing my answer I noticed I forgot to answer the second part of your question. Here it is:
On the question of how I would get elected. I have been an active member of my local community for the past 8 years. I have run for office at the provincial level, worked with the community as a staffer for the municipal government, and supported many local non-profit and community groups in their projects and governance issues. As such, I am already a quite well-known entity in my riding and I am confident that I would be able to win here if I ran for my seat as Leader of the GPC.
That being said I would also be open to running in another strong riding should the Party identify that my chances of being elected were stronger there. My one condition would be that I not displace an already qualified local candidate. I strongly believe that if an individual has been present and active in their community they deserve the opportunity to run to represent that community. Ultimately I view the role of leader as one where we ensure we elect as many Greens as possible. If I can help grow our numbers but fail to be elected myself, then I will happily submit myself to the will of the members at the next leadership review and respect their decision.
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