Green Who Wants to Abandon Oil May Be Canada’s Next Power Broker
- Anti-pipeline party poised for record gains at ballot box
- Support could be pivotal if Trudeau falls short of majority
Elizabeth May
Photographer: Jennifer Gauthier/BloombergElizabeth May has been the lone green voice in Canada’s legislature for most of the eight years since she became her party’s first elected member of parliament.
She may soon have more company. Polls indicate the Oct. 21 election could be a breakthrough for the Green Party as climate change climbs front and center for many voters -- a groundswell captured late last month when half a million people poured onto the streets of Montreal alongside Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg in the largest protest in Quebec history.
The Green Party is poised to win a handful of seats. Some polls show its support at a record high, nipping at the heels of the New Democrats as No. 3 by popular support. May, herself, has the highest approval rating of any leader, considerably better than that of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who faces long odds in his bid for a second majority government.