The Green party, aiming to take some support away from the NDP, appeared to have scored a coup in New Brunswick, as a number of former provincial candidates and a member of the federal executive were reported to be flipping their support to the Greens, but some of those listed later refuted the claim, saying they never agreed to leave the NDP and were added to the list without their knowledge.
Jo-Ann Roberts, the national deputy leader for the Greens and candidate in the Halifax riding, forwarded the group’s declaration of support and a news release on the move to The Chronicle Herald on Tuesday afternoon.
“It’s not a formal merger,” Roberts said in an interview on Tuesday. “It should be understood for what it is. It’s a large group that have been leaders within the NDP in New Brunswick are choosing to leave the NDP for now and are urging their colleagues to vote Green.”
The NDP defectors are not running as candidates for the Greens but will be working on Green campaigns.
“In choosing the NDP, both federally and provincially, we had hoped to gain access to a vehicle that would allow us to make real change for those we care most for,” Jonathan Richardson, who is leaving a post on the federal NDP executive and election planning committee, said in the news release. “Clearly, the vehicle for progressive change in New Brunswick is now the Green Party. Its principles reflect my ideas and priorities and I’m sure all my NDP colleagues will feel the same. We must unite to bring about new solutions, because old politics failed to do so.”
The declaration cited several reasons for the move, including that federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has not visited the province since he took up the top post and that the party has not nominated any candidates in New Brunswick for the upcoming federal election. Meanwhile, the declaration said, the Green party has elected three MLAs and “represented New Brunswickers very valuably.”
Roberts said the situation in New Brunswick, while not reflected in Nova Scotia, is “a bit of a Maritime problem.”
“I think it is a symptom — not one that’s right across the country — but it is showing that in this election, a number of progressive voters are saying that for this election we’re voting Green and we’re throwing support, in this case publicly, behind the Green party.”
She said a developing national narrative sees people frustrated with the federal Liberals and Conservatives looking to the Greens as a third party for the first time, although it will depend on where you are in the country.
“We’re starting to be in a race for that third-party position,” Roberts said. “We have nominated more candidates, we’re almost completely nominated in New Brunswick, we have our candidates all in P.E.I., we have a couple left to fill in Nova Scotia but those are well underway.”
She’s realistic about Green success in New Brunswick translating into Nova Scotia or her Halifax riding, though.
“We know that there’s certainly been a history of the NDP in this riding,” Roberts said. “But we are hearing on the doorstep that climate’s a big issue. When they look at the climate plans, they’re considering voting Green. We’re seeing that. Our own polling shows that we’re strengthening here.
“This will be a factor in this race. I’m not going to get ahead of myself and say ‘Oh, yeah, we’ve got this covered,’ that’s not the case. We know that the NDP has a strong reputation and one we respect.”
David Coon, leader of the Green Party of New Brunswick, welcomed the decision of the former NDP provincial candidates to switch.
“They bring a wealth of experience as candidates and organizers, have been really active in their communities to support the causes there, and they’re a welcome addition to our party,” Coon said on Tuesday.
“Times change, and the Green party is the party for these times.”
The former New Brunswick NDP members, who were all candidates in the 2018 provincial election, are: Joyce A. Richardson, Lise Potvin, Willy Robichaud, Albert Rouselle, Anne Richardson, Justin Young, Jessica Caissie, Lina Chiasson, and Cecile Richard-Hebert.
The initial list was longer, but on Thursday, NDP representative Alana Cahill sent an email to the Chronicle Herald saying five of those reported to have defected were actually not transferring support to the Greens.
Jean-Maurice Landry, Hailey Duffy, Madison Duffy, Betty Weir and Francis Duguay now say their names were added to the list of defectors without their consent and they remain committed to the NDP.
Melanie Richer, a spokeswoman for the NDP of Canada, said via email that sometimes people change their mind about who they prefer to support.
“If these people are not interested in helping people make ends meet by bringing in a national pharmacare program right away and instead not until 2030, that’s up to them to explain,” Richer said. “If these people are comfortable in supporting a conservative government led by Andrew Scheer uplifted by Elizabeth May’s Greens — that’s also up to them to explain.”
Richer said the party expects to nominate a full slate of candidates in New Brunswick and is scheduling nomination meetings for six of the 10 federal ridings by the end of next week.
