2020- 2022 Policy Process | Green Party of Canada
Where GPC membership collaborates to develop our policies
G21-D006 Explore Collaborative Campaign Arrangements with the NDP
Submitter Name
Réal Lavergne
This proposal was discussed in the workshop during Phase 2 of the VGM. However, there was not enough time for this proposal to be voted on in plenary by the members during Phase 2. Therefore, this proposal will not be included in the ratification vote.
Proposal
To direct the Federal Council to engage in negotiations with the NDP to explore the desirability and modalities for collaborative arrangements in the next federal election and/or the one after, based on shared platform priorities in the areas of electoral reform, climate action and social justice.
Objective
To enable the Green Party to increase its presence in the House of Commons and achieve significant advances in the areas of electoral reform, climate action and social justice. More immediately, to initiate negotiations to determine the potential for collaborative electoral arrangements with the NDP in the next one or two federal elections.
Benefit
The proposed alliance could produce a significantly higher seat count of the Green Party and the NDP in Parliament, allowing the two parties to more decisively hold the balance of power in the House to achieve shared objectives in the urgent areas of electoral reform, climate action and social justice.
Supporting Comments from Submitter
Vote splitting and strategic voting makes it harder for a small party to win seats under our first-past-the-post system. Green Party supporters are very aware that to win seats, a party has to reach a certain threshold of support. Indeed, the Green Party's current MP representation in the House of Commons and in the provinces has been achieved by focusing efforts in winnable ridings.
Running a candidate "in every riding" can handicap the negotiation of win-win arrangements with other parties. Recent simulations based on 2019 voting patterns suggest that such win-win arrangements involving the Greens and the NDP could considerably increase the combined number of seats of the two parties in Parliament.
Although we cannot predict whether the NDP will welcome our advances despite the win-win advantages for both parties, a show by the Green Party that it wishes to enter into negotiations in good faith would enhance the image of our party as one seeking cooperation over partisanship and demonstrate that we have done everything we can to overcome and eventually remove the barriers imposed on us by our country's first-past-the-post voting system.
Green Value(s)
Ecological Wisdom, Sustainability, Participatory Democracy, Social Justice, Respect for Diversity.
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I agree with Réal and I've spent many hours in my riding of Davenport (Tkaronto) going door-to-door for Fair Vote Canada. Passing this Directive is our best way forward a) to defeat other parties in many ridings; b) to show voters that the GPC will do what it takes for better laws for climate action; c) to unlock democracy by replacing the 1st-past-the-post (FPTP) legacy electoral system.*
In Davenport, the NDP came within 72 votes of defeating the Liberals. The GPC candidate could've made the difference if we had the freedom to support the NDP. Do you think Green supporters in Davenport cheered? No, we're as quiet and defeated as we always are in this riding because our goal (winning) is misguided, we continue to fail, election after election and we never learn, or grow or inspire anybody.
The present GPC policy is highly counter-productive, in my riding at least!
Yes, I volunteered for the NDP last summer here in Davenport, which gave me the chance to talk with the NDP's local team about collaboration. Bridges were made but the NDP are a conservative bunch (inflexible) and give no sign of interest in collaborating. That doesn't change the fact that in ridings where we fight them we're wasting precious time—and helping the fake-green Liberal machine to power.
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