Camille Labchuk

This will be a quick post, since I’m technically on vacation with family in Montreal…. but I just couldn’t resist sharing some exciting news today. As the Victoria Times Colonist is reporting, a new poll by McAllister research is showing that Elizabeth May is running neck and neck with incumbent MP, Conservative cabinet minister Gary Lunn. By the numbers (first choice support):

Elizabeth May (GRN) – 32%

Gary Lunn (CON) – 34%

Renee Hetherington (LIB) – 17%

Edith Loring-Kuhanga (NDP) – 17%

Last summer, after it became known that Elizabeth May would run in SGI, I wrote this in a blog post:

Clearly, many voters in the riding want to rid themselves of Gary Lunn, but have been unable to rally around a single opponent. Introduce Elizabeth May into the equation, and you’ve got a rallying point.

What the results of this poll are showing is that May has indeed become that rallying point. With as much support as her Liberal and NDP components combined, it’s clear that she is attracting support from across the political spectrum, and clear that she is the candidate with momentum. She is obviously best-positioned to knock off Gary Lunn, who is reviled by most voters in the riding. And as voters in SGI who usually support the Liberals or NDP gradually realize that May has a stellar shot at taking the seat from Lunn, I predict that more of them will shift into the May camp.

But it’s not only Liberal/NDP types who are shifting toward May — her candidacy seems to be resonating well with former Lunn supporters as well. Lunn’s numbers in this poll are down by nearly 10% from his 2008 election results, and it’s likely that some of this support is moving toward May. When you think about it, it makes perfect sense. The Green Party’s policies around fiscal responsibility and environmental stewardship resonate strongly with many small-c conservative voters. And with the Prime Minister’s big-spending government (bigger budgets than any Canadian government ever), his divisive war against Canadian police chiefs and sound gun policies, and his refusal to address climate change, it’s no wonder his candidate in SGI is losing support.

But I digress. The poll also shows that voters in SGI care about a number of issues, including environment, conservation, pollution, homelessness/poverty, and economy/jobs — all issues the for which the Green Party has strong policies. This is obviously good news.

There’s much more useful data contained in this poll that the campaign team in SGI is already making use of, including some great information around second choice candidates for SGI voters. But the long and short of it is that Elizabeth May has a real chance to win this riding. Now, we have to focus on providing her team with the support they need to pull off a victory. We need volunteers and we need donors. I challenge you today to do whatever you can to help send a Green to Parliament!

Happy Labour Day weekend. I know I’ll be smiling all weekend long about this great news out of SGI!