P.S.-M GREENS TO RUN GORD MILLER IN OCT. 21 ELECTION
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com
PARRY SOUND-MUSKOKA — Call him the great Green hope.
With two federal MPs now — and their numbers up in the polls rivalling the NDP — the Green Party of Canada hopes to turn that small wave into a national tidal wave this fall.
And Parry Sound-Muskoka could go along for the ride.
The local Greens are parachuting former Ontario environmental commissioner Gord Miller into the riding to run in the October federal general election.
“The Green Party recognizes the seriousness of the climate crisis and has concrete plans for how to address it,” said Miller. “Canadians are frustrated with governments that continue to ignore this emergency. The Green Party is poised to make a significant breakthrough in the 2019 election.
“I want to be a part of that. I will be a strong voice for the residents of Parry Sound-Muskoka.”
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May (MP, Saanich-Gulf Islands) said: “I’m thrilled that Gord Miller has been acclaimed as the Green candidate for Parry Sound-Muskoka.
“Gord’s considerable contributions and expertise in government affairs and environmental and sustainability issues will be invaluable. I look forward to him joining me in Ottawa this fall.”
Miller is no stranger to the Green Party, having served on the federal party’s shadow cabinet and as senior policy advisor to the Green Party of Ontario. May and Miller will celebrate the launch of his campaign at a large Green rally in Barrie.
He was the Greens’ former star candidate who was expected to win a seat in Guelph in the last election in 2015; where he finished a distant fourth with about 8,000 votes in the riding won by Liberal MP Lloyd Longfield.
After running twice as a Conservative, both federally (1997) and provincially (1995 in Cochrane), Miller turned tide on the Tories.
In 2015 he said that when the Progressive Conservatives became the Conservative Party of Canada: “We thought we were uniting the right, instead we united the wrong.”
Now, he’s building a home in Bracebridge.
And the PS-M Green riding association says in a release today (July 22) that it is “excited to announce” that’s he’s their guy.
They say Miller has been confirmed as the candidate for the riding, and has received the backing of the most recent federal candidate, Glen Hodgson and 2018 provincial candidate, Matt Richter.
The local Green Party was unanimous in their support, says the release from Hodgson, who carried the Green colours for the past several elections.
He says the Green team “is strong, unified and prepared to make history by electing the first Green Ontario Federal MP.”
Miller, Hodgson says, is well known. He served for 15 years, from 2000 to 2015. And has been an active member of the Green Party.
He is also a respected ecologist and environmental analyst, a regular guest commentator and panelist on environmental issues and policy discussion for major media outlets and organizations across the country.
“One needs only to look at this past year that saw record flooding in Muskoka coupled with a devastating wildfire north of Parry Sound to see that climate change and the health of our natural environment is of the utmost importance to people in Parry Sound and Muskoka,” said Miller in the party release.
“When you consider the impact to our local economies, to our housing and to our infrastructure, it becomes obvious that dealing with these issues affects our lives and our economy and Greens have been saying this for years. However, we remain the only party that has an actual plan to deal with climate change that will protect our environment and invigorate our economy and Canadians are seeing this and, as a result, supporting us like never before.”
Miller, who is in the process of building a new home in Bracebridge, has a long history with the riding, claims the release.
He has worked in both Muskoka and Parry Sound area over the course of his many years of public service.
An official launch for the Gord Miller campaign is being planned for later this month.
The federal Green Party and Leader Elizabeth May are preparing to release their fully-costed platform in the next few weeks.
The Greens are enjoying the biggest increase in support of all the major parties and are on track to elect the most MPs in their history in the October election.
