- The results are in and Canada avoided the worst-case scenario of a Poilievre government, but this has come at the expense of the NDP and Greens who both saw their number of seats and share of the popular vote collapse — a major setback for the left on multiple fronts.
The Conservatives got more votes than they did in any other election since 1988. That included the Harper years and his majority government of 2011 that was achieved with less than 40%.
The Green Party of Canada failed in every respect; they appointed a leader, Jonathan Pedneault, without a leadership race and ran him in an unwinnable seat. He and Elizabeth took the party down the path of militarism and wiped out any suggestion that the Green Party stood for peace. May purged the left of the party and campaigned for NATO expansion, failed to use the term genocide to describe the situation in Palestine, refused to call for sanctions on Israel, and encouraged people to vote strategically for the “progressive” candidate in their district. They also proposed massive tax cuts that went far beyond what the Conservatives were proposing and embraced the politics of fear. These successive failures completely gutted the party of any relevance, failed to inspire people to step forward as candidates, and left 1/3 of districts without a Green candidate. That led to the party being expelled from the leaders’ debates, which reduced visibility and compounded the pre-existing conditions. Their loony suggestion that they had made the threshold for participation in the debates despite not having the candidates to back it up made them look dishonest and manipulative. They failed at even their most basic objective. The changes they made to the party’s worldviews did not resonate with anyone.
May was the only Green to win her seat — a worst-case scenario for the party and its chances of renewal or going beyond the personality cult that it has become over the past 20 years. May has not resigned the leadership, and judging by her “victory” speech in the face of overwhelming defeat, it appears that she will not be going anywhere soon and will instead cling to the leadership position well into her 70s Staying true to her popular nickname. The popular vote for the Green Party of Canada hit a 25-year low. In the year 2000, the party had a similar share of the popular vote but had only run 111 candidates in that election, so the average vote share of each candidate has hit an even more profoundly historic low.
To rebuild the Green Party and give it a chance of survival beyond her personality, May and Pedneault should step down from the leadership. May should sit as an independent and allow the organization to progress beyond her personality by holding a leadership race where she does not determine the rules, rig the process, or support a candidate as she did in previous rounds. All this needs to happen quickly since it’s an unstable minority government.
With respect to the NDP, the prospects of renewal in that party are somewhat higher as Singh has resigned and a leadership race will be held. There is potential for change and left-wing politics within that party, but they too have gone along with the establishment narrative of constant warfare, centrist politics, and lack of substance.
All this while Trump continues to talk about the 51st state in a massive show of disrespect to Canada. Our political system will be unstable, with the Bloc Québécois and perhaps the NDP holding the balance of power and the Conservatives enjoying more popular support than they have had in a generation. Voter turnout was relatively low and despite annexation threats, the genocide in Palestine, the degradation of living conditions, the environment, declining access to housing and healthcare, many people chose not to vote in this election. But who can blame them? All of the options were terrible aside from a handful of standout candidates. I nearly destroyed my ballot – something I had never considered before.
Where Do We Go From Here?
While all this may seem negative, it is where we find ourselves in 2025. The left needs to up our game. The media environment has gone downhill, the right is empowered, they are viral online and more popular and outspoken than ever.
Now is the time for left-wing Canadians to stand up, take to the streets, form new media outlets and maybe even a new political party that can counter right-wing populism with bold ideas, courage, and unwavering support for peace. For far too long we have allowed the right to set the agenda and determine what is politically correct and what is not. The mainstream views wokeism as worse than racism, wealth redistribution as worse than corporate greed, war as better than peace. It’s time to reframe the narrative and take action.
Alex Tyrrell
Leader of the Green Party of Quebec – Writing from Shanghai China
