Elizabeth May seeks Green Party nomination in Central Nova
Antigonish (18 March 2007) – Green Party leader Elizabeth May returned to her personal and political roots in the province of Nova Scotia today to announce that she will seek the party’s nomination for the seat of Central Nova in the next federal election.
“This is where it all started,” said May, who has called nearby Cape Breton Island home since her teenage years. “Nova Scotia is where I began my lifelong vocation as an activist and political campaigner. It is entirely fitting that I now come back here to launch my first full campaign as leader of the Green Party of Canada.”
Ms. May said that she had faced a difficult choice in deciding where to run, especially following her strong showing in last year’s London North Centre by-election where she earned 26% of the vote to finish in second place, defeating the Conservative Party and NDP candidates in the process.
“Of course we have done our research and if this was just about polling figures, then I would be returning to London to finish what I started in November, not coming to a Conservative Party stronghold to take on the son of Elmer MacKay,” she said.
“But in the end I had to follow my heart and my heart tells me two things: that I must run in Nova Scotia and that challenging a prominent member of the government will enable me to keep a strong focus on why Nova Scotia and Canada cannot afford another government led by Stephen Harper.”
Ms. May said she also plans to use her Central Nova campaign to launch a new Antigonish Movement that will create sustainable economic opportunities in communities across Canada.
It is not the first time Ms. May has taken on a government big shot in a Nova Scotia riding. When she was in her 20s, she formed the Small Party – the predecessor of today’s Green Party – and ran against then Liberal deputy prime minister Allan J. MacEachen in the old riding of Cape Breton Highlands-Canso, which included Antigonish.
“A lot has changed since then,” said May. “I am slightly older, the Green Party has emerged as the new force in Canadian politics and, to be brutally honest, Peter MacKay is no Allan J. MacEachen. The stars seem to be aligning in my favour.”
