The Green Party of Manitoba (french: Parti vert du Manitoba) ('GPM') is a green provincial political party in

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

, Canada, founded on November 11, 1998. The party is legally autonomous from the Green Party of Canada, though for several years many of its members also belonged to the ''Green Party of Canada in Manitoba'', a federal organization established in 1996 (the two organizations were separated in May 2005). The GPM has maintained a position as the fourth largest party in Manitoba since the 2003 election, both in the number of votes received and candidates run.

History

The GPM is not the first "Green Party" in Manitoba history. Former

New Democrat New Democrats, also known as centrist Democrats, Clinton Democrats, or moderate Democrats, are a centrist ideological faction within the Democratic Party in the United States. As the Third Way faction of the party, they are seen as cultural ...

br>Nick Ternette
established a "Green Party" in Winnipeg in 1989, and fielded candidates under its banner in that year's municipal elections. Ternette was from the left-wing of the NDP, and opposed the party's centrist direction in the 1980s. His "Green Party" supported several progressive and environmental causes, and was further to the left than is the current GPM. None of its candidates were elected, and the party never ran candidates at the provincial level. Ternette is not affiliated with the GPM, although neither has he opposed it. The current party was established by Winnipeg electoral reform activist Chris Billows in November 1998, with the assistance of the Green Party of Canada. Billows, Eymond Toupin, and future provincial leader Markus Buchart hosted the Green Party of Canada's national convention in Winnipeg in August 1998.

Policies

The GPM's policies are generally progressive. The party is primarily focused on environmental issues, and promotes the conservation of land and non-renewable natural resources. It has expressed concern about "urban sprawl" in Winnipeg's suburbs, has called for reform in Manitoba's commercial hog sector, and generally supports the rights of small farming interests over corporations. The GPM also favours liberal positions on social issues such as

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

and

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

, and promotes accessible public health care with emphasis on healthy lifestyles and illness prevention. The party supports the extension of labour protection laws to farm-workers and a reduction of Manitoba's standard work week from 40 to 32 hours. It has also endorsed full employment, and has criticized

Gary Doer Gary Albert Doer (born 31 March 1948) is a former Canadian politician and diplomat from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He served as Canada's ambassador to the United States from 19 October 2009, to 3 March 2016. Doer previously served as the 20th p ...

's NDP government for not reversing welfare cutbacks enacted by the previous

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...

government of

Gary Filmon Gary Albert Filmon (born August 24, 1942) is Canadian politician from Manitoba. He was the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba from 1983 to 2000, and served as the 19th premier of Manitoba from 1988 to 1999. Political care ...

2016 Platform

The GPM released its 2016 election platform, entitled "Building a Sustainable Manitoba", on April 5, 2016. The document included promises to introduce

Guaranteed Annual Income Universal basic income (UBI) is a social welfare proposal in which all citizens of a given population regularly receive an unconditional transfer payment, that is, without a means test or need to work. It would be received independently of an ...

to Manitoba, a $50/tonne

carbon tax A carbon tax is a tax levied on the carbon emissions required to produce goods and services. Carbon taxes are intended to make visible the "hidden" social costs of carbon emissions, which are otherwise felt only in indirect ways like more sev ...

, fare-free transit, and oppose the

Energy East pipeline The Energy East pipeline was a proposed oil pipeline in Canada. It would have delivered diluted bitumen from Western Canada and North Western United States to Eastern Canada, from receipt points in Alberta, Saskatchewan and North Dakota to ref ...

, among other items.

Elections

The GPM ran six candidates in the provincial election of 1999, and scored its best result in the Winnipeg riding of Wolseley, where Phyllis Abbé, also a prominent former New Democrat, received 386 votes. Former party leader Markus Buchart ran against

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

in the riding of

Tuxedo Black tie is a semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and American conventions for attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdochically by its principal element fo ...

, and received 126 votes. The party received 0.2% of all votes cast in the province. The GPM ran fourteen candidates in the 2003 election. Buchart received 1193 votes (19.5%) in Wolseley, placing second against New Democrat

Rob Altemeyer Rob Altemeyer is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was a member of the Manitoba legislature from 2003 to 2019. Altemeyer has long been involved in social justice and environmental issues in the Winnipeg area. He was responsible for implement ...

. The GPM as a whole received 4.08% of the vote in the ridings that it contested. In the December 13, 2005, by-election held in the strongly conservative

Fort Whyte Fort Whyte is a provincial electoral division in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was created in 1999, after the provincial electoral boundaries commission determined that southwestern Winnipeg had experienced enough population growth to ...

constituency, GPM candidate Shelagh Pizey-Allen garnered 1.77% of the vote. The GPM ran fifteen candidates in the 2007 election. The fifteen captured 1.33% of the vote, or 5.5% in the electoral divisions that were contested. The Green candidates received 12.32% in Wolseley placing second, 8.46% in Lord Roberts, 7.76% in St. Boniface, 6.38% in Fort Rouge, and third place in Minnedosa ahead of the

Liberal Party of Manitoba The Manitoba Liberal Party (french: Parti libéral du Manitoba) is a political party in Manitoba, Canada. Its roots can be traced to the late 19th century, following the province's creation in 1870. Origins and early development (to 1883) Origina ...

. In 2011, the GPM ran 32 candidates across the province and took 2.52% of the vote province-wide, or 10,886 votes, and won 4.56% of votes in ridings they contested. Party leader James Beddome placed second in the Wolseley constituency with 19.64% of the vote, while nine other candidates placed third in various ridings ahead of

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

candidates.

Leadership

Leaders of the Green Party of Manitoba * Markus Buchart, 1998–2005 *Daniel Drimes, 2005 * Holly Nelson, 2005–2006 *Andrew Basham, 2006–2008 * James Beddome, 2008–2013 *Alain Landry (interim), 2013–2014 * James Beddome, 2014–present Markus Buchart resigned as party leader in late February 2005. The party's second leader was Daniel Drimes. He served as leader from April 2 to 22, 2005. The party's first leadership contest under the rules of

Elections Manitoba Elections Manitoba (french: Élections Manitoba) is the non-partisan agency of the Government of Manitoba responsible for the conduct and regulation of provincial elections in Manitoba. Its responsibilities are to operate free of political influe ...

began on July 1, 2005, and a new leader was chosen on November 20, 2005. She was Holly Nelson, a retired electrical technologist and professional writer who owned a Winnipeg New Age book store, the Philosopher's Stone, during the 1990s. In September 2006, a few weeks before the party's leadership convention, she stepped down, having accepted an out-of-province job. On November 19, 2006, the party chose 23-year-old Andrew Basham as its new leader. On November 15, 2008, James Beddome was elected leader, defeating incumbent leader Andrew Basham and contender Shane Nestruck. Beddome's first term expired November 2010, and he was acclaimed a second term. Alain Landry was appointed interim party leader for the Manitoba Greens in Nov, 2013 after the resignation of former leader James Beddome. James stepped down to focus on his new career as a lawyer after graduating from the faculty of law at the University of Manitoba in 2013. Landry ran as a candidate in the

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

and

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

elections. In January 2014, he ran in the

Morris Morris may refer to: Places Australia *St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia Canada * Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry * Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba ** Morris, Manitob ...

by-election. Former leader James Beddome sought to return to the leadership of the Greens and ran in the leadership race held in November 2014. He defeated past Green candidate Kate Storey in the contest with 21 votes to 9 for Storey.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Green Party Of Manitoba 1998 establishments in Manitoba Environmental organizations based in Manitoba Organizations based in Winnipeg Political parties established in 1998 Provincial political parties in Manitoba