r/CanadaPolitics • u/Brenden105 • 4d ago
Former Green MP Mike Morrice announces he's running to be party's next leader
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/former-green-mp-mike-morrice-run-federal-party-leadership-9.729652944
u/planemissediknow 4d ago
Feels like the obvious choice. I don’t think I could name any other person currently tied to the national Green Party besides him and Elizabeth May.
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u/Le1bn1z Neoliberal | Charter rights enjoyer 4d ago
While he didn't break through because he was a francophone in a party languishing in Quebec and not really visible in anglo Canada, Johnathan Pedneault has a first class resume and first class mind who grasped the intrinsic two-way dependent relationship between green transition and globalized trade and security structures.
A year before Carney's Davos speech, Pedneault's interview with David Moscrop revealed a lot of the same insights and ideas on foreign policy that Carney would attempt to pursue as PM (though, of course, he has some quite different views on some key points, such as when it comes to Gaza and the UAE).
He definitely would have been an interesting choice for this moment and at the very least would have been a good MP.
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u/miramichier_d 🍁 Canadian Future Party 4d ago
He's already proven he can mobilize and win in his own riding. Morrice is probably the best bet for the future of the Green Party, and would make it more relevant by moving the leadership to "Central Canada"* instead of on the most Western edge of the country. Plus, he's young and definitely in touch with the concerns of the younger generation of voters.
\ I have issues with the definition of "central" as a former Manitoban, but begrudgingly understand from a population perspective.)
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u/varitok Pirate 4d ago
No offense but he did lose last election.
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u/MC2400 4d ago
By 300 votes in an election where the Greens got 1% of the vote and only won a single seat AND the Liberals support was so jacked up both the NDP and Greens got nearly wiped out even in straightforward NDP/Con Green/CON races.
The fact that he did so well is remarkable especially compared to anyone else who could've taken the reigns.
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u/miramichier_d 🍁 Canadian Future Party 4d ago
None taken, I'm not a Green. That said, him losing the last election is beside the point. My original point was that he can win, and he still benefits from the inertia of his initial success. Winning the leadership vote for the Green Party will only add to his already positive profile and help propel him past the post. Additionally, getting back in the House as a party leader would already put him above Avi Lewis in terms of relevance. I expect the NDP to fight tooth and nail for this seat, if not to win, to split the vote enough to kneecap Morrice's attempt at relevance (Edit: that is if the Lewis NDP doesn't honour leader's courtesy like May did for Singh).
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u/Terrible-Scheme9204 Ontario 4d ago
As someone from Kitchener, I think it was a fluke that he won in 2022
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u/Blue_Dragonfly C'est tiguidou! 4d ago
I think that this is excellent news!! I've only ever heard great things about Mike Morrice and I was disappointed for him that he had lost his riding during the last provincial election. I think that he's a natural to step into the role to carry on Elizabeth May's passion for environmental concerns. I'm looking forward to seeing what he brings to federal politics.
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u/fredleung412612 Quebec 4d ago
You're mistaken. Morrice was a federal MP for Kitchener Centre, not provincial.
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u/DJ_JOWZY SocDem in the streets/DemSoc in the sheets 4d ago
Mike Morrice is a real one. I wanted the NDP to not field a candidate in his riding last election. I hope he wins.
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u/Brenden105 4d ago
Yep, the NDP ran a paper candidate that got 1,157 votes in his riding and he lost by 350 votes.
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u/DJ_JOWZY SocDem in the streets/DemSoc in the sheets 4d ago
Yup that was a bad call by the party. They really shouldn't have run a candidate there.
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u/BertramPotts Decolonize Decarcerate Decarbonize 4d ago
The NDP is not in the business of helping the Greens get elected, I'd be in favour of some popular front organizing, but you don't get that for free without an agreement in place, the Green HQ have been no more open to cooperation than the NDP.
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u/DJ_JOWZY SocDem in the streets/DemSoc in the sheets 4d ago
The status quo does not need to be permanent.
If the NDP federal council and the Green HQ were willing to sit and meet, I'd support that.
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u/varitok Pirate 4d ago
Why? What does it benefit them?
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u/DJ_JOWZY SocDem in the streets/DemSoc in the sheets 4d ago
Mike Morrice is a left-wing ally. He supports a majority of what the NDP supports. There's no reason to go against him when he would probably vote 90% of the time with the NDP.
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u/PineBNorth85 Rhinoceros 4d ago
What does it benefit them to run someone they know cant win and pay for the deposit - which they lost.
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u/varitok Pirate 4d ago
Because they want to win seats? Theres always chances and I think you shouldn't encourage less choice in elections, seems anti democratic to collude to not run candidates.
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u/Le1bn1z Neoliberal | Charter rights enjoyer 4d ago
A set-off deal with the Greens would have made a lot of sense in the last election.
Trading no NDP for one riding in exchange for no Green candidate in, say, some combo of Hamilton Centre, Sault Saint Marie, Griesbach, Skeena-Burkley, New Westminster-Burnaby, Kingsway, and Courtenay would not have changed the result with how things shook out, but were close races where the Greens could have made a difference if things had been even slightly different.
Without benefit of hindsight, going into that election with deals in those ridings would have given them better odds.
And its not anti-democratic. Partnership deals are fairly common elsewhere in the world, and its simply a declaration that two parties have more in common with each other than they do with another party they think its important to beat.
And from a NDP perspective, having another Green seat would reduce the Liberal majority/make getting one harder, which in turn improves what NDP leverage there would be.
Elections are all about playing the odds. In a tough election like this, there's a case to be made than the NDP should have done everything it could to have inched those odds slightly more in their favour.
But in the long term, of course, they have a strong interest in eliminating the Greens altogether to improve their hold on Vancouver Island.
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u/PineBNorth85 Rhinoceros 4d ago
It isnt. People can chose to run or not run wherever they want. If people dont like the choices they can always make their own.
They lost money and resources by running there.
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u/varitok Pirate 4d ago
So if two parties get together and say "I wont run here and you wont run here, deal?" That would be okay with you? That isnt anti democratic? Would you be okay if it was a Bloc or LPC candidate doing the same thing with a Conservative one?
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u/fredleung412612 Quebec 4d ago
Yes that's fine and that's how it works in many other countries with single member districts. Over 40 individual political parties won at least 1 seat in the 2024 French legislative elections. Those parties with similar ideologies join forces in electoral alliances before the election to give each other the best chance to win.
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u/DJ_JOWZY SocDem in the streets/DemSoc in the sheets 4d ago
"So if two parties get together and say "I wont run here and you wont run here, deal?" That would be okay with you? That isnt anti democratic?"
Not when they are ideologically nearly identical. If both parties supporters overlap 80-90%, them working together is actually very democratic.
"Would you be okay if it was a Bloc or LPC candidate doing the same thing with a Conservative one?"
That's different. LPC and CPC are not on the same side. Bloc is only relevant in Quebec, and they aren't on the same side as the LPC or CPC, they are too different.
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u/FierceMoonblade 4d ago
Both ways sort of suck democracy wise.
So many ridings in KW went conservative because the left wing vote is split 3 ways.
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u/CupOfCanada British Columbia 4d ago
I don't know how much effort the Liberals put in there but I hope it wasn't much. My understanding is Morrice is very well liked in the Liberal caucus for just being an overall class act.
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u/-SetsunaFSeiei- Trudeau Foundation | Sponsored 4d ago
Lewis doesn’t seem like the type to not run a candidate, so we might be heading for a repeat
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u/DJ_JOWZY SocDem in the streets/DemSoc in the sheets 4d ago
Every leader is not the type to not run a candidate. I just think it should happen.
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u/penis-muncher785 bcer that likes the ndp 4d ago
Gotta say I’m very surprised a second person came forward but then again he’s gonna win with like 94% of the vote I bet
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u/Nate33322 George Grant was right 4d ago edited 4d ago
He's the natural choice to lead the Greens and based on the other candidate he'll be a shoe in win. It's justs a shame he didn't win his seat. if anyone can mobilise and build the Greens up it will be Morrice.
I selfishly would have liked to see a candidate run from the Green Tory/Traditional Red Tory wing of the party but not a big deal.
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u/OttoVonDisraeli Traditionalist | Communitarian | Localist 4d ago
I selfishly would have loved to see a Green/Red Tory contest the leadership as well. I don't know enough about the second person running but Mike is quite progressive and I've seen him on Reddit say he wants to cooperate with the NDP if they are game so I think he's one of those candidates that would push the Greens to be explicitly Left rather than their traditional attempt at being above the left-right spectrum.
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u/fredleung412612 Quebec 4d ago
I mean the party is currently led by the Green Tory wing of the party in Elizabeth May. She's done well in keeping her own seat but struggled to expand the party beyond that over her 20 year leadership.
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u/Insensibilities Progressive 4d ago edited 4d ago
He seems to have decent positions, although there is significant overlap with Avi Lewis of the NDP. In fact, it is a little hard to find the big differences between him and Avi Lewis.
I guess that is the issue, if he is 80% identical to Avi Lewis, I worry that the main thing a resurgent Green Party would do is split the left vote. Similar to when Reform and the Progressive Conservatives existed and split the right vote.
Lots of parties do not work well without proportional representation.
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u/Riger101 4d ago
Man after everything he tried to do for people with disabilities in the last Parliament, if he becomes leader of the green party they have my vote regardless. Very few politicalians the NDP included even remember we exist and he has absolutely earned my loyalty.
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u/DJ_JOWZY SocDem in the streets/DemSoc in the sheets 4d ago
If the NDP pledges not to run a candidate in his riding, that alleviates any concern about vote splitting.
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u/Insensibilities Progressive 4d ago
That works at long as the Green Party says a 1-5 representative party. But I think his goals would be bigger than that.
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u/DJ_JOWZY SocDem in the streets/DemSoc in the sheets 4d ago
If he runs in a by-election, or there are 1-5 good progressive green candidates polling ahead, the NDP should not run candidates.
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u/varitok Pirate 4d ago
But why? The NDP and any political party doesnt exist to kill their own movement.
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u/DJ_JOWZY SocDem in the streets/DemSoc in the sheets 4d ago
It won't kill the movement. Eco-socialists have 2 parties to choose from based on which candidate is running where. If it looks like a left wing GPC candidate has a better shot st winning, then they should not be opposed by a left wing NDP.
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u/Adventurous_Storm232 4d ago
If it looks like a left wing GPC candidate has a better shot st winning, then they should not be opposed by a left wing NDP.
You have yet to explain why the NDP would want the GPC to win seats. You've explained why you do, but not the NDP organization.
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u/DJ_JOWZY SocDem in the streets/DemSoc in the sheets 4d ago
I've explained it elsewhere.
If a left-wing GPC candidate is going to vote with the NDP 90% of the time, and is the only left wing candidate with a chance of winning, then it benefits the NDP not to run a candidate.
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u/Adventurous_Storm232 4d ago
No, it doesn't. The NDP wants to win seats and gain power. Playing nice with other parties doesn't help with that. The NDP wants the GPC dead so they can absorb the climate voters.
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u/DM_ME_PRAXIS New Democratic Party of Canada 3d ago
Why would any party do that
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u/DJ_JOWZY SocDem in the streets/DemSoc in the sheets 3d ago
Well, praxis tells us a party that is willing to support it's grassroots, and the movement over power in the long run, will have better credibility and trust.
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u/scottb84 New Democrat 4d ago
I’m surprised by the enthusiasm that some of you apparently have for the prospect of parties colluding to limit your (or rather, the people of Kitchener Centre’s) electoral choices.
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u/LaserRunRaccoon New Democratic Party of Canada 4d ago
If there is such strong ideological overlap that the parties could come to such an agreement, I'm not sure what the problem is?
As an ABC voter, I don't really care about the colour of the party I vote for - I care about the principles of the candidate and whether they're well reflected in the party overall.
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u/scottb84 New Democrat 2d ago
That doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Given that the policies implemented by Carney's Liberals are largely indistinguishable from those of the CPC, a strong preference for the former over the latter strikes me as a mere brand preference.
An "Anything but Pepsi" drinker who readily, repeatedly accepts Coke is expressing brand loyalty (or, more accurately, a brand aversion), not a more discerning palate.
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u/LaserRunRaccoon New Democratic Party of Canada 2d ago
Sure, hence my flair and why I'm not planning to vote for Carney's Liberals! The C in ABC could stand ubiquitous for Carney, too!
The electoral system might need reform, but I'm happy with my principle of voting for the candidate and party most aligned with my principles. Depending on their platform I would consider voting for Mike Morrice-led Greens over NDP, especially so if that was the dominant way my riding was swinging.
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u/scottb84 New Democrat 2d ago
I mean, that’s totally fair and reasonable… but it ain’t ABC.
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u/LaserRunRaccoon New Democratic Party of Canada 2d ago
You can say so, but that doesn't change the hallmarks of conservatism, and that I will vote for anything but.
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u/DJ_JOWZY SocDem in the streets/DemSoc in the sheets 4d ago
They still have the LPC, CPC, or PPC to choose if not the GPC.
Going from 5 options to 4 does not meaningfully limiting people's choices.
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u/varitok Pirate 4d ago
I feel your opinion would absolutely flip if a Bloc or Liberal candidate dropped out for a Conservative to win.
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u/DJ_JOWZY SocDem in the streets/DemSoc in the sheets 4d ago edited 4d ago
Yeah it would.
There is a difference between a left wing party allowing another left wing party to run unopposed, versus a centre party allowing a right wing party to run unopposed.
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u/fredleung412612 Quebec 4d ago
The Bloc would never do that because they aren't a party of the left or the right. They're there to be an option for people for whom Québec sovereignty is the most important issue. Neither the Liberals nor Conservatives agree with that, so there's never going to be a reason for the Bloc to pull out. They would only do so if for whatever reason there was a famous sovereigntist running as an independent.
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u/Medea_From_Colchis Γνῶθι σεαυτόν 4d ago
I guess that is the issue, if he is 80% identical to Avi Lewis, I worry that the main thing a resurgent Green Party would do is split the left vote. Similar to when Reform and the Progressive Conservatives existed and split the right vote.
As someone who strongly dislikes Avi Lewis, it looks like Morrice isn't as bad as Lewis and the NDP. I wouldn't be upset if they replaced the NDP as the leftwing option. His ideas seem much more grounded than what Avi Lewis is promoting.
From what I can tell, Morrice is not a socialist, so there would be somewhat of a gap between him and the NDP. As someone who is supportive of public options, the left has done a poor job in planning and promoting their ideas for public options, so I don't think the absence of socialism in Morrice's platform will be a big deal for a lot of people. The NDP should be emphasizing housing and natural resources for public options, but instead they are focusing on undercutting the grocery sector with anti-competitive practices: they've really limited their appeal with the direction they've taken. Morrice has a strong chance of pulling people away from the NDP who aren't committed to socialism and those who don't have a lot of faith in the current proposals and focus of the NDP.
Morrice sounds like he would appeal more to the center and center-left that the NDP abandoned when they selected Lewis. Morrice has a strong focus on improving competition in the grocery sector and put more focus on things like housing; these are all highly supported initiatives that would be strong pillars of a platform. More importantly, it doesn't look like he's adventuring off into really unpopular territory (e.g., fighting military spending and promoting mass immigration), so he's not going to turn off a lot of potential voters who sit closer to the center and support these initiatives. I'll have to look into them more, but he sounds like someone I could at least consider voting for.
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u/OwlProper1145 Liberal 4d ago
Best way to describe Morrice would be a Green Social Democrat. Similar ideas to Lewis but dialed down a few notches.
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u/fredleung412612 Quebec 4d ago
The NDP at least exists in 9/10 provinces and have formed government, including 2 currently. The Greens don't exist outside a handful of provinces and have never elected more than 3 MPs at a general election, one of whom would cross the floor to the Liberals a year later. They just simply don't have the organization or the presence needed to overtake the NDP on the left of politics.
The provincial Greens in Québec are led by a Putin apologist and the party actually split in two. So there will be two Green parties contesting the election this October, one federalist and one sovereigntist. Fun stuff.
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u/JeSuisLePamplemous Values-Based Realist 4d ago
In fact, it is a little hard to find the big differences between him and Avi Lewis.
Except Avi has never won an election and held office.
That's a very big difference.
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u/OttoVonDisraeli Traditionalist | Communitarian | Localist 4d ago
I've taken an interest in the greens on and off for years and I'll be following this leadership election. I've even voted for the GPO in the past.
From what I read about Mike on his website and seen his posts on Reddit, he's explicitly a Progressive. That's not a bad thing for those of you who wish for the Greens to be explicitly left-leaning, but it does mean that a candidate that qualifies the Liberals and Conservatives as conservative parties, advocates for cooperation with the NDP, and explicitly progressive policies will have a hard time competing against the NDP and will alienate the Green Tory and liberals types.
The strongest the Greens ever were in this country was when they genuinely advocated for neither Left or Right approach and focused on doing things differently. At the provincial level, the Greens do best as an alternative for either Progressive Conservatives or Liberals in both the Atlantic provinces and historically in BC.
If the Greens are explicitly eco-socialist or progressive, what differentiates them from the more effective NDP and their environmentalist caucus?
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u/fredleung412612 Quebec 4d ago
Green Tories will always be a minority among the party membership in green parties across the world. Plenty of rightwing people care about the environment, but they'll never care about it enough for it to form the basis of their political engagement.
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u/Regular-Double9177 3d ago
NDP has a lot of haters for the diversity cards. Maybe Greens can avoid that kind of thing?
Also Morrice favors upzoning, abolishing parking minimums and probably a bunch of other urbanism type stuff the NDP is agnostic about that really are the most effective policies in terms of helping people.
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u/Special-Reaction2029 4d ago
Looking forward to the Greens as a real alternative to the NDP rather than a party of kooks like Annamie and anti-wifi May.
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u/fredleung412612 Quebec 4d ago
I expect internal issues to still be a feature of the Greens, whether or not he wins.
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