Green Party Co-Leader Jonathan Pedneault holds a news conference in Montreal, on April 16.Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press
Green Party Co-Leader Jonathan Pedneault did not participate in the leaders’ French debate on Wednesday evening, after the party was disinvited and spent the day pleading for that decision to be reversed.
Mr. Pedneault said Wednesday that the decision by the Leaders’ Debates Commission was undemocratic and meant to try to silence them.
“Their last-minute decision to exclude the Green Party of Canada from the leaders’ debate is not only unjust and baseless, because we met the criteria, it is undemocratic,” Mr. Pedneault said.
He blamed the situation on a “co-ordinated campaign by the Bloc Québécois and conservative commentators” who were more interested in protecting their political turf than informing Canadians.
Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet had objected to the Greens’ participation, citing the rules – and the fact that less speaking time for each leader would help Liberal Leader Mark Carney.
The commission said early Wednesday that it had revoked the Green Party’s invitation to the Wednesday and Thursday events. It said that it did so because the party intentionally reduced its number of candidates running in the election for strategic reasons.
“Whether or not the Green Party of Canada intended to run 343 candidates, it has since made the strategic decision to reduce the number of candidates running, meaning that voters no longer have the opportunity to vote for those candidates,” it said, adding that it believed this went against the debate rules for inclusion.
Pedneault is questioned by reporters on April 16.Evan Buhler/Reuters
Green Party leaders contradicted each other on whether the party strategically removed candidates.
Co-Leader Elizabeth May said the party did not do so, despite what party spokesperson Rod Leggett told The Globe and Mail in a statement Tuesday.
She reiterated, as she said on Sunday, that the lack of a full slate was because of issues with Elections Canada returning officers and candidates facing challenges collecting signatures, which she called bullying.
“We never had any decision, nor did we strategically remove candidates from any seat. So given that it was a misunderstanding, we hope the debates commission will reconsider,” she said on Wednesday.
She said she consulted a lawyer and there was not enough time to file a court injunction to reverse the commission’s decision.
On Tuesday, Mr. Pedneault told Radio-Canada that it was a strategic decision not to run a full slate. He said the party decided not to send candidates to certain ridings, particularly where the Conservatives have a better chance at winning than the Greens.
The Globe analyzed the ridings where the Greens decided to run and not run candidates and compared them with the redistributed 2021 election results, or more recent by-election results, if applicable.
Of the ridings where the Greens are not running candidates, there is only one where the Green vote could matter, according to the analysis. In Kitchener-Conestoga, Liberal incumbent Tim Louis is running for re-election. However, the gap between the Liberals and the Conservatives is small based on the redistributed 2021 election results, so the absence of a Green candidate could potentially help the Liberals.
As well, of the ridings where the Greens are running candidates, eight are in places where the Green vote could make a difference for the Liberals, either by strengthening their current incumbency or, in two ridings – Miramichi-Grand Lake in New Brunswick and Toronto-St. Paul’s – by potentially tipping the seat from the Conservatives to the Liberals.
The Greens had originally qualified by having candidates endorsed by the party in 90 per cent of ridings 28 days before the election and by having at least one MP sitting in the House of Commons on the day Parliament was dissolved.
Liberal campaign spokesperson Mohammad Hussain said in a statement that his party would have supported the Greens staying in the debates if consulted.
NDP campaign director Jennifer Howard said in a statement that her party respects the commission’s decision and rejects any attempt to undermine or politicize its decision-making.
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