The Green Party of Ontario (GPO; French: Parti vert de l'Ontario) is a political party in Ontario, Canada. The party is led by Mike Schreiner. Schreiner was elected as MPP for the riding of Guelph in 2018, making him the party's first member of the Ontario Legislative Assembly.[4] In 2023, Aislinn Clancy became the party's second elected member following her win in the Kitchener Centre byelection.[5]
The Greens became an officially registered political party in 1983.[6] It fielded 58 candidates in the 1999 provincial election, becoming the fourth-largest party in the province.[7] In 2003, the party fielded its first nearly full slate, 102 out of 103 candidates, and received 2.8% of the vote. In 2007, the party fielded a full slate of 107 candidates, receiving over 8.0% and nearly 355,000 votes.[7] Subsequently, the party's popularity declined in the 2011 and 2014 elections during tightly contested races between the Progressive Conservatives and ruling Liberals. Its popularity and vote share have increased since, and in the 2022 election, the party received 5.96% of the vote.[8]
History
Early years
The Green Party of Ontario became an official political party in 1983 and was registered with Elections Ontario.[6] Shortly thereafter, the party contested its first election, fielding nine candidates who collected a combined 5,300 votes or 0.14%. In the 1987 election the party again ran nine candidates who fared worse, collecting 3,400 votes or 0.09%. In 1990, the party captured a higher result, with 40 candidates capturing 30,400 votes or 0.75%.[9]
The party elected Frank de Jong as its first official leader in 1993. It ran its first election as an organized party in the 1995 provincial election, losing more than half its support and falling to just 14,100 votes or 0.34%.
De Jong led the party through three election campaigns, gradually building party support to just over 8% in the 2007 provincial election.[10]
The 2003 provincial election saw an increase in vote share for the Ontario Greens. Running 102 out of a possible 103 candidates, the party captured 126,700 votes, or 2.82%. The GPO placed ahead of the Ontario New Democratic Party (ONDP) in two ridings, and took fourth place in 92 others.[11]
Throughout 2006, there was a move toward major constitutional changes in the party.[12] Included in the changes were the formation of a much larger Provincial Executive, which included two gender paritied representatives from each of six regions, gender paritied Deputy Leaders, and the creation of multiple functionary roles separated from the Provincial Executive.
At the Party's 2006 Annual General Meeting (AGM), it adopted further changes to the existing Constitution that, amongst other things, reduced the size of the Provincial Council and renamed it the Provincial Executive. One of the first acts of the new Provincial Executive was to strike a hiring committee to bring on a full-time campaign manager in response to mounting internal pressures to ensure the party was ready for the October 2007 provincial election.[13]
Under de Jong's leadership, the party fielded a full slate of 107 candidates in the 2007 provincial election, receiving over 8.0% and nearly 355,000 votes.[7] In the run-up to election, the Greens' support climbed into the double-digits for the first time in party history.
Although the party did not elect a member to the provincial legislature, it did increase its share of the popular vote to 8.1% (a gain of 5.3% from the 2003 election), placed second in one riding (Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, with 33.1% compared to the PC incumbent winner's 46.7%), and took third place in a number of other ridings. Shane Jolley, the Green candidate for Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound, earned more votes than any Green candidate in Canadian history at that time.[14]
The previous GPO logo
De Jong announced his resignation as leader on 16 May 2009, at the Green Party of Ontario Annual General Meeting. A leadership and policy convention was held 13–15 November 2009 in London, Ontario.[15]
Following his resignation, de Jong was replaced by Toronto entrepreneur Mike Schreiner, who was the sole candidate in the party's leadership race.[16] The Greens failed to win seats in the subsequent 2011 and 2014 provincial elections, though Schreiner received 19% of the vote in Guelph in 2014.
In the 2018 provincial election, their third election under leader Mike Schreiner, the party ran on a platform of investing in green jobs and clean energy, rolling out a universal basic income,and investing in mental health services.[17] The party ran a full slate of candidates including over 50% women for the first time. Schreiner was excluded from the televised leaders debates, which led to an unsuccessful campaign by Fair Debates to encourage media to reverse the decisions.[18]
In 2018, party leader Mike Schreiner became the first Green MPP elected to the Ontario Legislature.
In May 2018, a month ahead of that year's general election, the Toronto Star editorial board endorsed Schreiner as the best candidate in Guelph and said that he was "the most forthright leader in the campaign for the 7 June Ontario election."[19] Schreiner was also endorsed by the Guelph Mercury's editorial board in an op-ed, "Mike Schreiner is the candidate most worthy of representing Guelph provincially," citing ten reasons to vote for Schreiner.[20]
Schreiner's campaign proved successful, and he was elected as the first ever Green MPP in Ontario history. He captured 45 per cent of the vote in the Guelph riding, more than doubling the previous percentage and nearly tripling his raw vote numbers.
Schreiner was re-elected in the 2022 provincial election and was again the only Green candidate elected.[21] The party narrowly lost in Parry Sound—Muskoka, a riding that had been held by the Progressive Conservatives since its establishment in 1999. Green candidate Matt Richter placed second to PC candidate Graydon Smith, losing by just over 2,100 votes.[22]
The party elected its second MPP in 2023. Green candidate and deputy leader Aislinn Clancy was elected in a 2023 by-election in Kitchener Centre, doubling Green representation in the Legislature. Clancy won just under 48% of the vote, solidly beating the ONDP candidate. The seat had previously been in New Democratic hands since 2018.[23]
Policies
The Green Party of Ontario shares the values identified by the Global Greens: participatory democracy, nonviolence, social justice, sustainability, respect for diversity and ecological wisdom.[24] The party describes itself as socially progressive, environmentally focused and fiscally responsible.[25]
In the lead-up to the 2022 election, the party released policy papers focused on housing,[26] climate change[27] and mental health.[28] Its 2022 platform identified three priorities: a caring society, focussed on improving equitable healthcare, education, and social services; connected communities, focussed on tackling housing affordability by building more infill development, strengthening protections for renters and addressing speculation in the housing market; and new climate economy, focused on achieving net-zero emissions by 2045 by replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy sources, growing green jobs and protecting the environment.[29]
Its elected members have also called for more stringent tenants protections[31] and for the province to partner with non-profit and co-operative housing providers to build affordable non-market homes.[26]
The party's housing plan, released in 2021, featured seven strategies to build what the party referred to as "more liveable and affordable communities."[26] They included building more inclusive neighbourhoods through missing middle and midrise development, protecting farmland and other natural land from urban sprawl, building and maintaining a provincial affordable housing supply, ending chronic homelessness, strengthening protections for renters and addressing speculation in the housing market.[26] The Toronto Star editorial board endorsed the plan, referring to it as "an ambitious document that proposes tackling the housing crisis from all vantage points."[32]
Climate
The Green Party supports phasing out fossil fuels and moving to renewable energy sources. Its platform included a number of measures to increase the affordability and accessibility of electric vehicles, retrofit homes and businesses to increase energy efficiency, and phase out fossil fuels to reach net zero by 2045.[29]
The party is opposed to the construction of new nuclear plants.[29] It has called for an end to the province's offshore wind moratorium in order to increase access to renewable power.[33]
Greens advocate for stronger protections to wetlands and agricultural land.[29] Party leader Mike Schreiner was vocal in opposing the Ford government's plan to allow development on southern Ontario's Greenbelt, which was ultimately reversed in 2023.[34]
Health
The Greens' healthcare policies are rooted in prevention, including increasing upstream investments in the social determinants of health like social isolation, housing insecurity and poverty, as well as partnering with the federal government to implement universal pharmacare and dental care programs.[29] The party advocates for improving the recruitment, retention and safety of public healthcare workers.[29] It supports a publicly funded, publicly delivered healthcare system and opposes the privatisation of healthcare services.[29]
The party supports a non-profit long-term care system and has called to phase out for-profit long-term care homes while increasing base funding for the sector. In its 2022 platform, the party pledged to build 55,000 long-term care beds by 2033 and at least 96,000 by 2041.[29]
In 2022, the party released a mental health policy paper calling for the expansion of access to mental health and addictions care under OHIP and an immediate base budget increase of 8% to the community mental health sector.[28]
Education
The party's education platform includes updating Ontario’s funding formula to reflect evolving student needs, including adequate funding for special education and rural and remote schools.[29]
The party supports in-person learning and opposes mandatory e-learning or hybrid learning models.[29] It has called for the elimination of EQAO standardised testing.[29]
In the 2022 provincial election, the party pledged to cap elementary classroom sizes at 24 students for grades four through eight and at 26 students for kindergarten.[29]
At the postsecondary level, the party has called to increase sector funding by indexing the base operating grant for Ontario's postsecondary institutions to the weighted national average.[29]
Its 2022 platform called for the reversal of OSAP funding cuts through the conversion of loans to grants for low- and middle-income students and the elimination of interest charges on student debt.[29]
During the 2007 provincial election, education, and specifically the funding of religious schools, was a central issue. GPO policy calls for an end to the publicly funded Catholic school system, a merger that it claimed would save millions of dollars in duplicate administrative costs.
Social programs
The Green Party of Ontario believes in modernizing the social safety net to account for present-day challenges. Greens have advocated for the doubling of the Ontario Disability Support Program and Ontario Works.[29]
It has been an advocate for a universal Basic Income for all Ontarians, in order to provide economic security while at the same time cutting red tape and bureaucracy.
The party supports ten-dollar-a-day daycare. In its 2022 platform, it pledged to work with the federal government to ensure continued funding for universal access to ten-dollar-a-day care.[29]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Green party leader Mike Schreiner called for an increase in the number of provincially legislated sick days from three to ten and for a ban on employers requiring sick notes from employees who take time off due to illness.[35]
Electoral reform
The GPO is a strong supporter of electoral reform. In its 2022 election platform, it called for the creation of a "diverse, randomly selected Citizens Assembly on electoral reform" to provide recommendations on how to modernise the Ontario electoral system to better reflect voters' democratic will.[29]
Taxation
Greens have historically supported tax relief for small businesses, generally funded by modest increases to the corporate tax rate. They have also proposed road pricing (including tolls, parking levies and land-value taxes near subways) to pay for public transit.
The party has proposed a number of tax measures to reduce speculation in the housing market, including a multi-homes tax on all individuals and corporations owning more than two residential properties, a vacant homes tax and an anti-flipping tax.[29]
The party favours a revenue neutral carbon fee-and-dividend approach to pollution pricing. In its 2022 platform, it proposed to take over federal administration of the carbon pricing system, increasing the price by $25 annually until it reaches $300/tonne and returning all revenues collected from individuals to individuals as dividends.[29]
The Ontario New Democratic Party is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. The party sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum and currently forms the Official Opposition in Ontario following the 2018 general election. It is Ontario’s provincial wing of the federal New Democratic Party.
James R. M. Harris is a Canadian author, environmentalist, and politician. He was leader of the Green Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006, when he was succeeded by Elizabeth May.
Frank de Jong is a Canadian politician, environmentalist, and elementary school teacher. He joined the Green Party of Ontario in 1987 and became the party's first official leader in 1993 – a position he held until November 14, 2009, when he was succeeded by Mike Schreiner. From 2017 to 2019 he was the leader of the Yukon Green Party. De Jong has also campaigned for federal office as a member of the Green Party of Canada.
Kitchener Centre is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1997.
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal assent by the lieutenant governor of Ontario to become law. Together, the Legislative Assembly and Lieutenant Governor make up the unicameral Legislature of Ontario. The assembly meets at the Ontario Legislative Building at Queen's Park in the provincial capital of Toronto.
The 2007 Ontario general election was held on October 10, 2007, to elect members (MPPs) of the 39th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada. The Liberals under Premier Dalton McGuinty won the election with a majority government, winning 71 out of a possible 107 seats with 42.2% of the popular vote. The election saw the third-lowest voter turnout in Ontario provincial elections, setting a then record for the lowest voter turnout with 52.8% of people who were eligible voted. This broke the previous record of 54.7% in the 1923 election, but would end up being surpassed in the 2011 and 2022 elections.
Theodore Calvin Arnott is a Canadian politician who was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on September 6, 1990, representing the Riding of Wellington. He is a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario and represents the Riding of Wellington—Halton Hills in the Ontario Legislature. Arnott has served as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario during the 42nd and 43rd Parliaments of Ontario.
The Green Party of Ontario fielded 102 candidates in the 2003 provincial election in Ontario, Canada, none of whom were elected. The only riding which the party did not contest was Oakville. Zakaria Belghali had been selected as the GPO candidate, but did not collect enough signatures to have his candidacy validated by Elections Ontario.
The Green Party of Canada was founded at a conference held at Carleton University in Ottawa in 1983.
The 2011 Ontario general election was held on October 6, 2011, to elect members of the 40th Legislative Assembly of Ontario. The Ontario Liberal Party was elected to a minority government, with the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario serving as the Official Opposition and the Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP) serving as the third party. In the final result, Premier McGuinty's party fell one seat short of winning a majority government.
Michael John Schreiner is a Canadian politician who has served as the leader of the Green Party of Ontario since 2009. Schreiner sits as a member of Provincial Parliament (MPP), representing Guelph; his 2018 election made him the first Green Party member elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
The 2009 Green Party of Ontario leadership election took place November 13–15, 2009 in London, Ontario.
Michael Donald Harris is a Canadian politician who has been a regional councillor for the Regional Municipality of Waterloo since 2018. Harris was formerly a member of Provincial Parliament (MPP), and represented Kitchener—Conestoga from 2011 to 2018 as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party until April 9, 2018, when he sat as an independent.
The 2018 Ontario general election was held on June 7, 2018, to elect the 124 members of the 42nd Parliament of Ontario. The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, led by Doug Ford, won 76 of the 124 seats in the legislature and formed a majority government. The Ontario New Democratic Party, led by Andrea Horwath, formed the Official Opposition. The Ontario Liberal Party, led by incumbent Premier Kathleen Wynne, lost official party status in recording both the worst result in the party's 161-year history and the worst result for any incumbent governing party in Ontario. The Green Party of Ontario won a seat for the first time in their history, while the Trillium Party of Ontario lost its single seat gained by a floor-crossing during the 41st Parliament.
Dianne Saxe, née Shulman, is a Canadian lawyer and politician who was elected to represent Ward 11 University—Rosedale on Toronto City Council following the 2022 municipal election. Before entering politics, Saxe practised environmental law and served as the last environmental commissioner of Ontario from 2015 to 2019. She was deputy leader of the Green Party of Ontario (GPO) from 2020 to 2022.
The 2022 Ontario general election was held on June 2, 2022, to elect Members of the Provincial Parliament to serve in the 43rd Parliament of Ontario.
The 44th Ontario general election is tentatively scheduled to be held on June 4, 2026. As of December 2016, Ontario elections are held on the first Thursday in June in the fourth calendar year following the previous general election, unless the Legislative Assembly of Ontario is dissolved earlier by the lieutenant governor of Ontario on the advice of the premier of Ontario, a motion of no confidence or the failure of the Assembly to grant supply.
A by-election was held in the provincial riding of Kitchener Centre in Ontario on November 30, 2023, to elect a new member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario following the resignation of NDP MPP Laura Mae Lindo.
Aislinn Clancy is a Canadian politician and member of the Green Party of Ontario who was elected to serve as Member of Provincial Parliament for Kitchener Centre following a 2023 by-election. Clancy is the second member of the Ontario Greens to be elected in the province, following party leader Mike Schreiner. Prior to her election she was named Deputy Leader of the Green Party of Ontario by Mike Schreiner.
The following tables list by region the nominated candidates for the 44th Ontario general election.
References
↑ "Green Team". Green Party of Ontario. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
Italics indicate parties represented in the legislature but not yet registered.
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