One might wager that it ain’t easy being Green in Banff-Airdrie.
The Green Party’s Mike MacDonald knows he’s got his work cut out for him, much like any left-leaning party. But it might be surprising to know that in a “safe seat” region and Tory bastion, the Greens have placed second twice (in 2004 and 2008).
“To me the Green Party draws votes from all parts of the spectrum,” MacDonald said. “We get non-voters, we get people who voted Conservative in the past, we get Liberal, we get NDP.”
One constituent he met in Airdrie, who MacDonald described as “old-time Conservative,” told the Green candidate he wasn’t voting Tory this election because of the government’s Bill C-51, the controversial piece of anti-terrorism legislation.
“It seems like when you get people – the old-time Conservatives – who start to dig around more deeply as to what’s going on, those are the ones saying, “I’m not really happy about some of these things.”
But despite their placing, it’s always been a distant second place, and MacDonald is aware it’s a tough slog for his party. In spite of that, he’s enthused to provide another perspective.
“I know it’s an uphill battle for sure. But I’m a bit of political junkie; I have been my whole life and this is my chance to speak up for a different direction.”
The Green candidate told the Eagle that our current electoral system discourages many potential voters from participating and is making electoral reform one of his top priorities.
“In a riding that’s Conservative heartland, the people that don’t want to vote in that direction get discouraged because they don’t feel like their vote means anything.”
His second time running, MacDonald said he’s better aware of “where to get the most bang for my buck.”
“The Green Party’s a small party in terms of financial resources and total votes across the country. We’re an up-and-coming party. You do have to be a little more focused on what you do and what you can’t do.”
With the Greens traditionally associated with environmental issues and being ‘anti-oil’, MacDonald said he’s been working to show constituents there’s more under the hood.
If elected, the biggest difference, MacDonald said, would be his presence.
“You’d see me at public events, you’d see me at meeting with the mayors, with council. You’d see me engaging with the people to get their perspective on things.
“Being engaged with constituents and leadership so that we can jointly come up with solutions to these issues, as opposed to having things handed down, with no dialogue.”
MacDonald responded resolutely to questions about working across party lines within a minority government to pass legislation.
“To me that’s a no-brainer. We need to have more cooperation, more ability for MPs to work for the betterment of the country rather than politicking all the time and sticking to party lines.”
No matter the results of the election, MacDonald said it’s been time well spent.
“Even if the outcome at the end is that Blake wins again, it’s been 11 weeks that I’ve been able to engage with people and say, ‘this could be better.’ That’s a victory of sorts anyway – to get people thinking things can be done differently.”
