'A star is born' Ipsos Reid CEO proclaims of May in Globe. Three Former Premiers say May Won; Greens @17% in Ont: Highest Ever!!
Stunning News in this blog:
A) Three former Premiers – one Liberal, one Conservative, one NDP -- all said Elizabeth won the debate on CBC’s The Current.
B) A staggering 65% of English debate viewers said their impression of Elizabeth May and the Green Party improved –- far, far better than every other national leader -- leading Ipsos Reid CEO Darrell Briker to declare in The Globe and Mail that “a politiacal star is born" -– Elizabeth May.
C) The Green Party has hit 17% in vote rich Ontario –- the highest level ever!! according to Harris/Decima the pollster that most accurately predicted the outcome of the October 2007 Ontario election.
We’re basking in the glow of the post debate shift that’s occurring. So read on for the details . . .
A. Three Former Premiers declare Elizabeth the Debate Winner on The Current
On CBC Radio's "The Current" Friday morning, three former Premiers -- one Liberal, one Conservative, and one NDP all gave Elizabeth "the bouquet" (declaring her the Englihs debate winner). The three ex-premiers are:
Pat Duncan (Liberal, Yukon 1996-2006)
Grant Devine (Conservative, Saskatchewan 1982-1991)
Lorne Calvert (NDP, Saskatchewan 2001-2007)
You can listen to the podcast at http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/current_20081004_8011.mp3
Special thanks to Ariel Lade blogging about this!
B. The Globe and Mail headline said it all: 'A star is born' in Elizabeth May: pollster
“. . . it was Green Leader Elizabeth May who emerged the real winner of the round-table event,” said Ipsos Reid CEO Darrell Bricker commenting on the English language debate.
A staggering 65% of Canadians watching the English language debate said their impression of Elizabeth May and the Green Party improved – more than any other leader!
Mr. Bricker said “I think a political star was born last night [Thursday night].”
For the 2,512 Canadians Ipsos Reid surveyed during and immediately following the debate Elizabeth’s “first impression was really strong.” With such a large sample size the margin of error is only +/- 2%.
Elizabeth Has Highest Positive Ratings of All Leaders
Elizabeth May had the greatest improvement among Canadians of any leader in terms of their impressions. She had a net improvement of +49% [(improved impressions (65%) subtracting worsened impressions (16%) = 49%]. By contrast impressions of Stephen Harper worsened overall with a negative net score of minus 10 (-10). The other leaders all had positive scores: Jack Layton (+28); Stéphane Dion (net +11); Gilles Duceppe (+6).
From Ipsos Reid. I've added the 4th & 5th columns (Net Score & Rank)
It's important to note that Elizabeth has the highest positives and lowest negatives of all the national leaders! This bodes well in the last week of the campaign as voters finalize their voting decision.
Being included in the debates was a dream come true and the biggest boost the Green Party has ever had in Canada in its 25 year history! It was the crowning moment of all the hard work of thousands of members over 25 years.
More than three million Canadians watched the entire debate on CBC, CTV, Global, Newsworld, TVO or CTV Newsnet – and eight million Canadians watched some part of the debate.
Celebrate & Help
Celebrate the best moment ever in Green Party history right now by donating $25 or more right now (if you are a member) because we have to raise $400,000 in the final 10 days of the campaign to meet our budget.
Donate now at https://greenparty.ca/civicrm/contribute/transact?...
Make a donation celebrate eight million Canadians for the first time hearing the Green Party policies for the first time ever! To celebrate Elizabeth’s success! To celebrate the Green Party's emergence onto center stage! To celebrate democracy!
Of course a $25 donation will only cost you as little as $6.25 because of the federal tax rebate for political donations
If you’re a party supporter (not a member) donate just $10 right now . It will help us have the most vigorous campaign possible.
A $10 donation will cost only $2.50 -- as you'll get $7.50 off your federal taxes owing.
Immediately below this blog you can download two files as Word documents: Word document for Greens to edit and send to their contacts.doc and Word cover email for Greens to edit and send to their contacts.doc. You can help by downloading them, modifying them as you wish, adding whatever you like and sending them out to your friends, family and email contacts -- uring them to donate just $10 to the Green Party. It will make a huge difference.
Our budget calls for raising another $400,000 in the last 8 days. To do everything the party has committed to do, to win the ridings we’re targeting to win, to run the ads that we need to run we need that remaining we need that $400,000. It sounds like a lot, but it’s actually not. If half of the 10,000 Green Party members donate just $25 – we’ll raised $125,000 of that $400,000.
If just one quarter of the 80,000 green supporters on our wider email list donate just $10 we’ll raise $200,000 of that $400,000 goal.
But we still need to reach more people. Asking your family and friends for just $10 isn't hard. But it will make a world of difference to the Green Party's campaign.
C. Impact of English Debate Reverberating in Vote-Rich Ontario
Greens at highest level ever in Province
In vote rich Ontario, which represents almost 40% of Canadian voters, the Green Party has climbed to 17% -- its highest level ever -– tied with the NDP at 17%.
From Harris/Decima study "Ontario Tightens, Greens a Factor" released Oct 3. Note: Harris/Decima was the most accurate polling company prediction the outcome of the October 2007 Ontario provincial election.
The Harris/Decima study also shows our support at the highest level ever among urban women -- and given that 80% of Canadians live in cities and 52% of Canadian voters are women this is significant.
Green Party policies such as income splitting for couples -– so women can afford to stay at home to raise their children if they choose to; addressing the root causes of childhood asthma; addressing the root causes of why 40% of Canadians will get cancer in their lifetime; opposing the war in Afghanistan;
our concern for the future –- for our children and grandchildren -– are all issues resonating with women –- and of course the fact that Jack Layton and Stephen Harper opposed Elizabeth’s inclusion in the debates is convincing more and more women to vote Green.
The Harris/Decima study also highlights how Elizabeth's leadership score is statistically tied with Harper's and ahead of Dion's! (see page 4).
You can download the full Harris/Decima study at http://www.harrisdecima.com/en/downloads/pdf/news_...
Back to Debate Analysis
According to Ipsos-Reid, 20% of viewers thought Elizabeth and the Green Party offered the best policies and 17% thought Elizabeth won the debate – (ahead of Stephane Dion at 15%). Bricker called May, “a fresh face in the Canadian debates, a new star.”
CTV’s Analyst
Bernard Gauthier, a partner with public relations firm Delta Media, analyzed all the leaders’ performance for CTV's Canada AM
“The surprise performer of the night was Green Party leader Elizabeth May,” Gauthier said. “May delivered a strong performance” and she “absolutely” brought “a higher level of energy and a little bit of colour to the debate.”
"Everything was really polished. What surprised me and perhaps people at home was just how well prepared she was, how well briefed. She often had very specific points to make very clear, coherent arguments. I was really impressed."
Editorial from The Chronicle Herald in Nova Scotia
IF SUCCESS in debating is about exceeding expectations, then . . . Elizabeth May came out ahead in this week’s double-header of televised leaders’ debates. . . Ms. May needed to show she and her Green party were not just at the table as a democratic courtesy. . . Ms. May was well-informed on many issues and a sharp thorn in Mr. Harper’s side. In the English debate she shone, chastising Mr. Harper for failing to release a platform and for offering nothing new on economic issues. For Nova Scotians, she delivered the best zinger of the evening when, sweeping her hand over the table, she said Mr. Harper "swept aside" Bill Casey’s truthful objection that Mr. Harper’s first budget violated the Atlantic accords because "your word is law."
“There May be a winner in the debate”
Chronicle Herald election coverage headline
“The Green leader scored repeatedly, with sensible-sounding answers, and a nice, relaxed tone. She repeatedly mentioned the riding — for instance chiding Mr. Harper for ignoring the unemployed at Trenton Works.”
Help accelerate the incredible momentum we have going into the final 10 days of this campaign . . . help in continuing to make this dream come true – by donating and forwarding this message as an email to all your friends!
Thank you!
Jim Harris
National Campaign Chair
Président de la campagne nationale
Former Leader, Green Party of Canada
Ancien chef, Parti Vert du Canada
jim@greenparty.ca
PS For the most amazing photo see http://www.thestar.com/fpLarge/photo/511022
Here are links to some great articles:
'A star is born' in Elizabeth May: pollster
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM...
Post-Debate Summary: English-Language Leaders’ Debate: May Performs Well Above Expectations
http://www.ipsos-na.com/news/pressrelease.cfm?id=4106
CTV Expert critiques the leaders http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNew...
Canadian TV debate outdraws U.S. version http://www.thestar.com/FederalElection/article/511713
Why Canada’s Green Party is (finally) a prime-time draw
http://features.csmonitor.com/environment/2008/10/...
- Jim Harris's blog
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Comments
My yearly income is below $7,500 - and I just donated $25
If I am willing to take $25 from an already squeezed food budget, which means more peanut butter sandwiches and far less fruit and veggies for the next several weeks, then other GPC members can donate this amount too.
Who will match or beat my donation?
Ocean
WISE Book - Policies of Exclusion, Poverty & Health: Stories from the front
Podcast Channel: http://bcseawalker.podbean.com/
Personal Blog: Challenging the Commonplace - and other irreverent activities
http://challengingthecommonplace.blogspot.com/
I'm in...
...for $35 for now. It's my Hallowe'en money (yes mine, not the neighbourhood kids'.)
Hey Chrystal
I love your initiative
I'll match you.
Jim
Who else? The challenge is on.
Me too
Consider yourself matched!
who's next?
I'll match it!
Who's next??
Katie
Matched!
Now who's next?
Chrystal: How can I say no?!
I just renewed my membership at $10 a month ($120 a year).
:)
-- Brandon in T-Bay
I Just Gave My First Payment Of $20 A Month
$240 a year...let the great work and inspiring ideals continue!
I also sprung for a nice Green Party organic cotton T-shirt :)
Consider yourself matched
I couldn't think of a good reason not to!
Matched !
Kingston EDA will be sending you my cheque!
- Amanda Judd
- Amanda Judd http://youth.greenparty.ca
Matched again!
I like where the youth wing is going :)
'Tis great response
Am thrilled that so many people are matching or beating my donation. And I hope the donations keep on coming.
I also just matched it.
I also just matched it. But gave an extra $5 as well.
Another donation!
Thanks Peter.
More donations please! If I am willing to take $25 out of my ever-shrinking food budget, then how can others not make a donation too?
I just kicked in!
I fired off $50.00. I usually do a donation per year, but this was for a needy cause! We can all help a lot if we pool our resources!
B
Green support keeps rising: tying Libs & NDP amg 18-34 year-olds
The Harris/Decima poll released today shows the Green Party at the highest ever level in a Harris/Decima study.
It shows the Green Party at 13% across Canada. (Harris/Decima was the most accurate pollster in the recent October 2007 Ontario provincial election in predicting the outcome for every party).
NDP's Cynical Ploy Today
It's forcing other parties to try appealing to Green supporters -- such as Jack Layton today urging Green supporters to vote for the NDP. This is what creates cynicism in politics. Voting for the NDP won't stop Harper -- in fact it's Jack Layton we have to thank for Harper. He chose to bring down the Liberal minority in 2006 on the eve of the most important climate change conference ever. He chose to bring down the Liberals for short term political gain of ten extra seats. The NDP was actually influencing the government for once. So we have Jack Layton to thank for Harper being in power. Now he's trying to suggest that voting NDP will stop Harper??
There is only one strategic vote -- voting Green. The NDP now opposes a carbon tax -- a position that has been widely condemned by environmentalists.
When I was leader the NDP criticized us as being too right wing. We proposed using market mechanisms to clamp down on pollution and taxing fossil fuel. Layton opposed using market mechanism saying they were right wing. Now the NDP is proposing a market mechanism -- cap and trade.
Layton and the NDP in 2004 said the only thing that will work is government intervention. That in essense is what a carbon tax is -- government mandated price on carbon -- and now the NDP opposes us.
And now in the last week of the campaign we're supposed to somehow trust Jack Layton and the NDP?
Back to the Harris/Decima Poll
The poll shows Elizabeth with higher support on leadership than both Dion and Harper!
The poll also shows us at the highest level ever in support among 18 to 34 year olds – and in a statistical tie with the Liberals and NDP. The Green Party has the support of 18% of this age group, the Liberals 21% and the NDP 23% (the margin of error for this table is +/- 5.5%). The Conservatives are at 27% with this age group – and have been declining steadily during the campaign. If the trend continues it will be a four way tie in this demographic.
This shows all candidates it is important to reach out by email to everyone in their contact list -- because this demographic is the Internet generation.
You can download the full study at http://www.harrisdecima.com/en/downloads/pdf/news_...
Greens draining conservative support.: Another new poll!
What I think is most interesting and exciting about this debate-time poll is that the Conservatives dropped 4% Nationally while the Green Party picked up exactly 4%. '
Conservative 34 38 39
Liberal 24 23 23
NDP 20 19 17
Green 13 9 11
Bloc 8 9 8
I know this doesn't necessarily imply a direct transfer of all that support from Conservative to Green, but it supports the argument that Elizabeth May's strong showing in the debates hurts Harper while helping us, without bleeding support from the NDP or Liberals.
Additionally, in Atlantic Canada, the Green Party doubled support the day after the debates- from 6% to 12%!!
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canadavotes/story/2008/10/0...
For the Full Survey results:
http://www.harrisdecima.com/en/downloads/pdf/news_...
Ipsos Reid's Post-Debate Analysis now available for download
Ipsos Reid just published the study Post-Debate Analysis and the numbers are slightly different from what the Globe and Mail reported the day after the debates -- in fact Elizabeth's numbers are even higher!
Green Party leader Elizabeth May “enjoyed the greatest improvement in perception among debate watchers with nearly two in three ‘improved’ (64%) compared to just 13% ‘worsened’. This represents a net increase of 51 points (+51)
By comparison Harper had a net negative score of -7; In Quebec opinions of Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe improved significantly for a net increase of 26 points – while Stephane Dion had a modest +7 and Jack Layton a +22.
For the full Post-Debate Analysis go to http://www.ipsos-na.com/news/pressrelease.cfm?id=4112
Greens have more momentum in leadership rankings than all others
I opened up the latest Harris/Decima study today (Oct 6, 2008) and was completely floored by how dramatically Elizabeth positive ratings continue to rise with Canadians.
The impact of the leaders debate continues to reverberate around the water cooler.
Of every party the Green Party has the most momentum going into the final week of the campaign!
Elizabeth's leadership score -- the positive feelings that Canadians have towards Elizabeth and the Green Party -- have risen almost 10% since the Oct 1 & 2 debates:
If this trend continues Elizabeth will be tied with Jack Layton and Gilles Duceppe. In fact the margin of error on this is +/-2.7% so she is almost tied now.
By contrast the positive feelings Canadians have towards Stephen Harper and the Conservatives have been falling.
Now just a word to the wise -- it's important to not get too giddy when polls like this show incredible surges, similarly it's important to not be negatively affected by polls which show us artifically low. I always look at two things 1) the trend line -- and in the case above it's clear, consistent and in the same direction over time; and 2) look at the averages of all polls. Multiple polling firms confirm the research above about Elizabeth's performance in the debates. And most recently the average of the latest poll from each major polling companies over the few days confirms that the Green Party support is at 9.3% (more than double our 2006 result).
Greens & Elizabeth Lowest Negatives
Equally important, Elizabeth and the Green Party have the lowest negative feelings from Canadians.
By contrast Stephen Harper’s negatives have been climbing significantly since the Oct 1 & 2 debates -– which in turn has led to a decline in Conservative support. Look at the headlines today:
Harris Decima: Conservative Drop Further http://www.harrisdecima.com/en/downloads/pdf/news_...
Canadian Press: Conservative support hits new low http://news.sympatico.msn.ca/Election_08/ContentPo...
CBC: Conservative support slipping http://www.cbc.ca/news/canadavotes/story/2008/10/0...
Globe and Mail: Tightening race puts Harper in minority territory: Conservatives drop to 34% support http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM...
As a result Harper’s Conservatives have sunk to the lowest level of support in this campaign. In fact the Conservatives have sunk below their level of support in the 2006 election.
While the Conservatives have spend literally millions of dollars on attack ads over the last two years -- driving Dion's negatives to above 50% -- just four hours of televised leaders debates with Harper's refusal to ban semi automatic weapons in cities (or Canada for that matter), his stance on Kyoto and climate change -- has driven his negatives higher now than Dion's.
The full Harris/Decima study, entitled Conservatives Drop Further, is available for download at http://www.harrisdecima.ca/en/expertise/election2008/
Conservatives Keep Skidding: Harper's Quebec support evaporates
Harris Decima's poll today shows the Conservatives skidding even lower -- to 31%, while EKOS yesterday had them at 33% and Nanos at 34% (Oct6). Avering them out that's 32.7% -- the lowest point ever in the campaign.
As Canadians see the finacial melt down in the markets they're realizing that it's been Harper at the helm in Canada and Bush at the helm in the US.
Just how low will the Conservative Party go? Fascinating question -- pollster Nik Nanos always points out that leadership scores are a leading indicator of shifting voter preference.
Harper's leadership scores have been tanking following the leaders debates -- with the highest net negatives -- in fact the only leader with negatives.
While Elizabeth and the Green Party have the highest net positives.
So the shift is continuing.
Quebec will Bloc Harper Marjority
In Quebec it's particularly pronounced. And so any hope of a Conservative majority has completely evaporated as Harpers support in Quebec has melted.
The shift away from Harper and the Conservatives began with the debates.
On the French language debate Harper refused to say he'd ban semi automatic weapons -- the kind of weapon used in the Dawson College massacre -- a weapon that was legally obtained. Why does anyone in cities -- or anyone in Canada for that matter need a semi automatic weapon?
Arts cuts also played large. Cutting arts funding in Quebec with its distinct characters, history, culture -- is a frontal assault on the soul of the province.
But the most impactful exchange in all the debates was Elizabeth calling Harper's climate change plan a fraud in the French debates. And it is a fraud. Using 2006 as the base year for CO2 reductions flies in the face of every other country in the world which uses 1990 as the base year. CO2 emissions by 2006 were 30% higher than they should have been under Kyoto. So using 2006 as a base year is building in 30% more CO2 than Canada has already committed by international law to reduce.
Harper is also offside with Quebecers on Afghanistan.
Could we have no one get 30%?
The polls are starting to make the election into a major mess. Right now we have 2 parties generally in the 20's with not a lot of chance for either to make the 30's. The CPC is now dropping close to 30% and if the news gets much worse I figure they'll keep dropping as people start wondering who led us into this mess. As we grow to be consistently above 10% (except for Nanos and Angus Reid polls - AR had the CPC at 40% just 3 days ago) I suspect this type of thing (a completely split electorate) will occur more often.
Of note: The CPC promised senate reform - has no one mentioned to them that they have Alberta locked up (56% for the prairies according to the G&M) and outside of Alberta the senate is a complete non-issue but could cause headaches due to the fact it would require more constitutional talks?
John Northey
Wellington-Halton Hills
Proportional match
Chrystal, thanks alot for starting this!
I proportionally matched your donation to my yearly income.
"Turn, turn, turn,
Turn this world around,
For the children,
Turn this world around."
----
Julien Lamarche, Ottawa-Vanier Greens
E-mail and Google Talk: Julien Lamarche
Y! chat: drjlamarche
----
http://www.julienlamarche.ca - julien.lamarche@gmail.com
The 4 electoral systems: http://preview.tinyurl.com/5hzoxl
:-)
Julien, that's great news! Thank you.
Surprise On Election Day
I spoke to one of my clients in northern BC today... she's voting Green based on Elizabeth's performance and distrust of the traditional parties... I think everyone is going to be shocked on election day and those results above prove it... the Greens are going to be THE story on election night.
Another donation
Great work all!
What a good time to donate when Harper's going down in the polls and we're steady/up.
I'll make my donation 100.
Darcy
Thank you Darcy! Wonder what the total is now.
Wish we had a ticker on the website which updates as donations come in; i.e., a live ticker.
The use of such an interactive tool on the Ron Paul 2008 presidential candidacy site contributed to his supporters breaking two 24-hour online donation records. They broke the first record on November 5th, 2007 when they donated $4.3 MILLION online in a single 24-hour period. They broke their own online record a few weeks later, on December 17th, by donating $6.0 MILLION in 24 hours.
Watched the whole thing from my computer and that live ticker, I tell you, was mesmerizing.
Thank you Elizabeth and all hard working GREENS
The latest polls have lifted our spirits and our hopes for a sustainable world. Thank you Elizabeth for sharing your 'gifts' of fiesty determination, as leader of the Green Party, in articulating and clearly expressing what so many Cdns. want the world to be!
Elizabeth now most popular leader in English Canada
Elizabeth May is now the popular leader in English Canada, according to the latest Harris/Decima poll. Harris/Decima was the most accurate pollster in predicting the outcome of the October 2007 Ontario provincial election.
This is important to note –- pollster Nik Nanos always points out that leadership popularity is a leading indicator of party support –- in other words, if a leader’s leadership rating is rising – you can expect the party’s support to rise. Similarly if a leader's ranking is falling it's an indicator the party’s support will be falling in the near future. While this is not an absolute rule –- it’s a general principle.
Elizabeth is tied with Jack Layton -- who since the TV leaders debates has seen the positive feelings Canadians have for him slip by 5%.
By contrast Elizabeth's positive rankings by Canadians has risen by 10% since the debates.
If the trends continue -- Elizabeth's rise -- the Green Party will continue to pick up support right up to Election day. And if there is a time you really want to have momentum in a campaign it's right now.
So the Green Party's momentum continues into the final weekend!
Elizabeth's net rise in the campaign has been 23%. Duceppe and Layton's net rise has been 3%. The positive feelings Canadians have about Harper have fallen by 11% from the high in the campaign, while for Dion he's had a net rise of 10% from the low point. So more than any other leader, Elizabeth's net positives rating by Canadians have increased.
To download the full Harris Decima study go to http://www.harrisdecima.com/en/downloads/pdf/news_...
Collapsing Conservative Support Eliminates Strategic Voting Need
If you haven't already read the post immediately above.
As Markets Crashing so is Conservative Support
A stunningly insight from Harris/Decima’s poll today is that about 40% of voters say the market turmoil is affecting their thinking about who to vote for – the trend most notably in Ontario among older more affluent voters. Among these, the Conservatives support is crashing and bleeding to the Liberals. The Conservative lead has collapsed from 14 points to just one point in roughly one week – so the spread has been shrinking roughly 2% a day.
Given Mr. Harper’s cavalier attitude towards the loss of $600 billion of Canadian’s equity– his attitude and inaction – are eroding confidence well off Ontario voters have in his financial stewardship. See blog [insert URL here]
It is interesting to note that the Green Party has been holding its support with this group while the NDP has been declining marginally.
Election Implication
Voting pattern studies show the higher your income the more likely you are to vote – so this trend with affluent Canadians spells T-R-O-U-B-L-E for the Conservatives.
Because at the moment, the Liberals are now statistically tied with the Conservatives among the roughly 40% of Canadian voters who are concerned about the crashing markets.
Conservatives Sinking in Cities
The final important insight from Harris/Decima today is the Conservative support continues to sink in cities – and the trend shows no sign of slowing.
The Conservatives have fallen from a high of 38% to now just 26% – a 12% loss – or about one third of their support. The significant portion of the trend began with the debates and shows no sighs of leveling off. By contrast the Liberals have risen from a low of 22% to now 30%.
The Green Party has seen a steady rise – from a low of 8% to 13% now.
Given that 80% of Canadians live in cities this trend is important. And based on this trend, I predict that Conservative support will continue to fall with this group in the final phase of the campaign.
Continuing Collapse of Conservative Support Eliminates Strategic voting Need
The Conservative’s lead over the Liberals has shrunk from 16% at the highest point to just 4%. In fact in the 2006 election the Conservatives won 36.3% support while the Liberals won 30.2% – a spread of 6.1%. So the Liberals are doing better relative to the Conservatives in the last election.
No one else has yet speculated about it but if these trends continue – Harper’s number of seats will be reduced – and if the shifts continue at the rate they have been occurring we ill be looking at a Liberal minority.
Given the continuing collapse of the Conservative support there is no need at all to vote strategically.
To download the full study go to: http://www.harrisdecima.com/en/downloads/pdf/news_...
Green Support Solid Among Voters w Economic Fears; NDP tumble
Of the 40% of Canadians who are concerned about the economic crisis such that it's impacting their decision on who to vote for, NDP support has fallen by 6% – or roughly one quarter of their support with this group who are older, more affluent voters with the highest percentage voter turn out.
The Green Party's support remains rock solid throughout.
Harris/Decima Oct 10 for the full study see http://www.harrisdecima.com/en/downloads/pdf/news_...
Green Party: Invest in Sunrise Industries not Sunset
The Green Party fiscal plan creates the ultimate long term job security because we focus on sustainable jobs -- these are jobs that are going to exist for the long term.
For instance, every dollar invested in energy efficiency creates five times more jobs than a dollar spent on nuclear power. Nuclear power creates a boom/bust economy in one area -- such as Pickering -- but energy efficiency creates jobs in every community throughout Canada -- as homes and office buildings everywhere need to be retrofitted to become more energy efficient.
Denmark created 20,000 jobs by focusing on wind power over two decades – and the wind power capacity has been growing at a compounded annual rate of more than 30% for the last decade!
The Green Party focuses on encouraging the economic development of sunrise industries rather than subsidizing sunset industries.
The German government is giving Arise Technologies €25 million to build a new state of the art solar plant in Germany. The company is also investing an equal amount. So Germany is focusing on sunrise industries. See http://www.stockhouse.com/bullboards/MessageDetail...
A staggering 50% of the world's installed solar energy capacity is in Germany -- and the country is firmly committed to creating the jobs of the future.
By contrast governmental economic development policy in Ontario has been to give Ford, GM and Chrysler $1 billion of subsidy – and these companies in turn have laid off 20,000 workers.
Here are some background pieces to help candidates with the economic examples and arguments on why the Green approach is the best one:
Positioning
http://www.greenparty.ca/en/node/1150 Greens: More Fiscally Responsible than Conservatives, more progressive than NDP
Practical Solutions to Climate Change
http://www.greenparty.ca/en/node/3566 Google: How to Save 40 B kWhr at no Cost!
http://www.greenparty.ca/en/node/1481 Converting NA 200,000 taxis to hybrids would save $50 billion in fuel by 2016
http://www.greenparty.ca/en/node/1442 Vampire power: How to Save $6 Billion a year at no cost
http://www.greenparty.ca/en/node/1384 Shattering the Myth: Achieving Kyoto Targets will cost us Part I
http://www.greenparty.ca/en/node/3805 Conference Board Calls for Carbon Tax
Energy Efficiency Key to Economy
http://www.greenparty.ca/en/node/3362 Energy Efficiency: Key to Economic Security & Ecological Security
http://www.greenparty.ca/en/node/3086 US Automakers shed 16,587 Ontario jobs between 1999-2009 despite $1B subsidy
Hard Facts (and Hard to Take Facts) about Climate Change & Problems
http://www.greenparty.ca/en/node/1148 $7-trillion warning on global warming
http://www.greenparty.ca/en/node/3385 CO2's Relentless Rise Under Cons & Libs
"Green economy with sunrise industries"!
... what an excellent catch phrase!
----
Julien Lamarche, Ottawa-Vanier Greens
E-mail and Google Talk: Julien Lamarche
Y! chat: drjlamarche
----
http://www.julienlamarche.ca - julien.lamarche@gmail.com
The 4 electoral systems: http://preview.tinyurl.com/5hzoxl