Archive for Elections

The story of Elizabeth May and the Green Party in 30 minutes.

Le journal francophone L’Express a interviewé plusieurs candidats politiques qui se présentent contre des chefs de partis.  Ma mère, Adriana Mugnatto-Hamu, figure entre eux.

Gagner une élection n’est jamais très facile, mais gagner une élection contre le chef d’un grand parti est encore moins facile. Imaginez ceux qui se présentent contre Stephen Harper en Alberta, combien de chances ont-ils de gagner? Peu, je vous l’accorde. À Toronto, les chefs du Parti libéral et du Nouveau Parti démocratique se présentent respectivement dans les circonscriptions d’Étobicoke-Lakeshore et Toronto-Danforth. L’Express a rencontré trois candidats qui osent jouer les troubles-fêtes dans les circonscriptions des chefs.

Lisez le reste ici.

Update:  Click here to learn about the provincial debate.

If you are a Rogers customer, you can now watch the televised Toronto-Danforth all-candidates debate, moderated by Dale Goldhawk, online.     Read more »

Update:  Click here for the provincial debate.

The debate is just ending now, but Chris Tolley is already sending out his photo of his video of the proceedings.  As campaign manager, I get to hold fort at the office, anxious to hear how it went.

Update:  Someone has posted the full audio here.
Chris Tolley’s raw video is below:

Adriana talks about the importance of water, the environment and strong leadership on these issues.

Part of what moved Adriana to the Green Party was an NDP canvasser who came to our door and told us that the NDP was greener than the Green Party.  Seemed like a bold assertion, and some simple research proved it to be false.

Here are Adriana’s answers from the Mirror newspaper’s questionnaire article on Toronto-Danforth candidates:

Andrew Lang (Liberal), Jack Layton (NDP); Adriana Mugnatto-Hamu (Green), Katarina von Koenig (Conservative).

1) How will Toronto benefit from your party’s platform?

The Green Party has received the endorsement of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities for the second time in two elections. Our platform has an outstanding and innovative collection of programs that help cities rebuild infrastructure toward a low-carbon future, build future oriented industries, develop skills for our youth and give them jobs, as well as maximizing local community input.     Read more »

Update:  You can watch the debate here.

The all-candidates debate will run from 8pm to 9pm on Thursday, April 28, 2011 at the United Church on the north-west corner of Pape and O’Connor. Find out more about the debate here.  Adriana will be there from 7pm to meet and greet.

Chris Kitching followed me along canvassing, and then wrote this article for CP24.com.  It uses my experience as a jumping off point to delve into the various motivations for underdog candidates.

Adriana Mugnatto-Hamu, the Green Party's candidate in Toronto-Danforth, speaks to a man while campaigning for votes at Pape Station recently. Mugnatto-Hamu is in a David vs. Goliath-like battle against the riding's incumbent MP, NDP leader Jack Layton. (CP24/Chris Kitching)

Going toe-to-toe with an incumbent is always a challenge. The task is even more daunting when the reigning MP has a star profile that rivals that of Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

So, why are these so-called minnows bothering to invest so much time, energy and money in a short-lived campaign when a landslide defeat is likely?

For Mugnatto-Hamu, a Green Party candidate, she relishes the opportunity to push the agenda of an emerging political party and engage voters on the topic that is most important to her — climate change.

“At one stage I realized that the threats to my children were far more serious, so I was compelled to run,” Mugnatto-Hamu told CP24.com recently as she campaigned for votes at a bustling Pape Station. “I want to change policy and this is one way to change policy.”

Read the whole article on CP24.com.

For the 2011 campaign, Adriana is going door-to-door with a third postcard.

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Here’s the flyer for Healthy Families. Click the image to view the PDF. The text is below.     Read more »

Here’s the flyer for Global Leadership. If you click on the image you can view the PDF. The text of the flyer is below the image.     Read more »

Here’s the flyer for True Democracy.  If you click on the image you can view the PDF.  The text of the flyer is below.     Read more »

Here’s the flyer for Strong Communities. If you click on the image you can view the PDF.     Read more »

Here’s the flyer for Smart Economy.  If you click on the image you can view the PDF.     Read more »

Adriana passed out these bookmarks at TTC subway stations during morning and afternoon rush hours in the fourth week of the campaign.

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Adriana gave out these bookmarks at TTC subway stations during morning and afternoon rush hours in the third week of the campaign.

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Adriana will distribute these bookmarks at TTC subway stations during morning and afternoon rush hours in the last week of the campaign.

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Adriana handed out these bookmarks at TTC subway stations during morning and afternoon rush hours during the first weeks of the campaign.

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Peter Bevan-Baker is running for the Greens in Malpeque, PEI.  He understands that it’s a marathon.     Read more »

Advance voting opens today, Earth Day.  What better way of celebrating than by voting for the Earth?

Advance polls are open Easter weekend
Friday, 2011 April 22, noon – 8 pm
Saturday, 2011 April 23, noon – 8 pm
Monday, 2011 April 25, noon – 8 pm

To find your advance poll station, visit elections.ca,
type your postal code and press Go to find your riding,
and then click on Where do I vote?

Please.  Your Green vote will be noticed and will make a difference.  We need your help to change the direction of politics in Canada.

Everyone is welcome vote in the advance polls.

Election day remains Monday, May 2.

From the press release:

TORONTO, ONTARIO, MEDIA ADVISORY–(Marketwire – April 21, 2011) – The Green Party’s candidate for Toronto-Danforth, Adriana Mugnatto-Hamu, will participate in an all-candidates debate on Saturday, April 23, from 7pm to 9pm.

Organized by Engineers Without Borders, the debate will include candidates from three Toronto ridings: Toronto-Centre, Toronto-Danforth and Trinity-Spadina, and will focus on the issue of Canada’s foreign assistance and international development. The debate will take place in Northrop Frye Hall, Room 003, University of Toronto (73 Queen’s Park Crescent East).

Young Greens around the country will be drawing out lines to the advance polls tonight.  When people wake up tomorrow morning, green chalk lines will have appeared on sidewalks all over the country, leading to advance polling stations.

A large group of Young Greens in Toronto will be meeting at     Read more »

With the leaders debates now over, one result is clear: Elizabeth May, as leader of the Green Party, should have been a debater.

Why? Not just to include a woman among all the men, although, as a former human-rights commissioner, I find that an acceptable reason. It’s just not the only reason, because there are at least three others that made her exclusion a national injustice.

Read the whole Globe and Mail article by former Parliamentarian and former Human-Rights Commissioner Reginald Stackhouse.