Fall from Grace: The Collapse of the Green Party

With the recent resignation of Bevan-Baker as party leader, it completes an interesting arc for the Green Party in PEI. Ever since I started following politics in PEI again, I have grown very concerned at what I have seen with the Greens and after quite a bit of thinking I have decided to label them as a party of extremists. Despite their assertions that their best days are ahead, it’s safe to say the party is most likely finished and will be reduced to zero seats in the next election.

But before I explain why I believe this, it’s important we look further back and examine how exactly the party built momentum so we can understand how it came to fall.

Plan B, A Rare Opportunity

Back in 2012 the PEI government decided to move forward with a construction project commonly referred to as Plan B. Essentially it was a boondoggle to spread money around, the project consisted of straightening out some curves on highway one with the federal government providing eight million to move the project along. By and large the project was seen as a waste of money,furthermore; land had to be expropriated from individuals further souring the whole affair.

When constituents complained to to their Liberal MLA, Valerie Docherty, about the project she replied with something along the line that she had already lost a cabinet position and was not going to lose a second position by criticizing her party. I forget if this exchange made the news, but as someone that went to the Plan B site and interacted with protesters I can assure you everyone knew about this exchange. Most politicians put their self interest above the interests of their constituents, it’s just not a truth you are supposed to say out loud though.

Bevan-Baker became the Green Party leader sometime during this protest and he also happened to be a resident in the riding where construction was taking place. He made the news often with his protest and attacked Plan B both from an environmental and economic point of view. This effective criticism along with the comments made by Docherty ensured that he won his seat in 2015 by a staggering margin increasing his vote total by over 500% from 2011.

It’s undeniable that Bevan-Baker performed well, but we should also acknowledge the incredible opportunity he was gifted for a breakthrough. With her comments, Docherty became one of the most despised incumbents on the Island, there was no better incumbent to run against. The PC Party at the time was also in turmoil as Olive Crane just could not seem to provide effective leadership and the party was wrought with infighting. The Liberal Party in PEI was also seen as a corrupt self-interested monstrosity and Premier Ghiz did well to resign— something Trudeau should learn from.

My Opinion of the Greens at the Time

I mostly got started blogging by writing about Plan B, I even got one of my articles printed on the local newspaper. And despite tensions I have with the Green Party today, at the time I was actually cordial with many members as I went to the protests and also did video recordings that I posted on Youtube. Many of the members even shared and discussed some of my writings.

So when the 2015 provincial election came, as incredulous as it might sound to readers, if you were a fiscal conservative I would have recommended the Green Party as the best place to park your vote. Although I saw socialist policies coming out of the Greens at the time, it was nowhere to the extent I see today. Bevan-Baker’s speeches had an emphasis on the economy and I saw hints that he was making an honest attempt to bring some fiscal responsibility into play.

My hope at the time was that if he could find more success by focusing on the economy, that it could spark a conservative renaissance as the traditional parties in PEI raced to put the Green Party to the left of them on the political spectrum.

From 2015 Election to the 2023 Election

The time period after the 2015 election up to the 2023 election is where things changed, especially towards the back end. I mostly stopped looking at Island politics after 2015, but looking at the 2019 leaders’ debate I still see signs of a general fiscal responsibility theme. When asked about healthcare Bevan-Baker replied “you can’t throw money at a systemic problem” and then later followed up with an idea of converting rural hospitals to “medical hubs” where rural communities would be paid back what they get taxed for healthcare and be given the “autonomy” to decide how to provide their own healthcare. These are general ideas that a conservative/libertarian can’t really disagree with.

Watching the rest of the debate, what I hoped to happen did happen. The PC leader King did strike the Greens from the right emphasizing raising the personal exemption limit for taxes and leaving money in Islanders’ pockets. He used that expression again when talking about the carbon tax and the need to make gas more affordable. This to me is where the Greens probably lost their chance to form government. At 1:21 of this video is where King clearly comes across as the leader for the average worker and his economic interests. 

So already by 2019 we can see how the Greens are already losing ground on being a party for regular folks.

The time between the 2019 and 2023 election certainly does not seem to have improved things for the Greens. It’s at this point that I recall Jonathan Greenan being active on Twitter having at some point switched his allegiance from the Liberals to the Greens. You may recall that I’ve spoken about Greenan’s views on housing already in a previous article. His switch to the Greens seems to have coincided with a general change in attitude and policy from the Greens that resembles his style of politics. I have no idea how much influence he holds within the party, but I suspect it’s more than nothing. Regardless, the rhetoric for the Greens became more shrill, and their policy veered more to the extreme left along with an obsession with guaranteed incomes. To be blunt, it seems the party became more bitchy with constant criticisms about a lack of more draconian COVID measures and responses to Fiona. I believe this alienated the average worker in PEI and drove them to King, which while doing my research for this article, comes across as a more reasonable man.

Going into this final 2023 election the wheels seem to have pretty much come off for the Greens. It seems that the party was plagued by some sort of infighting with Greenan even suggesting that Hannah Bell should be the next Premier of PEI. To compound to this, Bell herself criticized her party for being unprepared by not having enough district associations built-up and focusing too much on policy. In her view “you need to start planning for the next election the minute you finish an election.” Quite a remarkable statement, how entitled do you have to be to think that once you start receiving an MLA’s salary that your number one preoccupation should be how to get re-elected four years into the future? Preston Manning has made this a focus of his efforts in later years, to draw attention to the fact that the primary focus of legislators should be legislating and providing good government, not constantly being on campaign.

Apart from this infighting, policy seems to have shifted as well and looking over the platform presented there was nothing really standing out for me. It was more of the same tax and spend that you would see from any socialist party. There was no pretense of fiscal responsibility, and in the leaders’ debate Bevan-Baker opened up with calling for a 15% wage increase for health workers. This is a dramatic shift in tone from the previous debate where he urged not to simply throw money at the problem of healthcare. I’m going to speculate here, but I believe Bell probably pushed the party further left to their detriment.

What is certain is that prior to this latest election there was a schism within the party, how deep it was is difficult to say, but I believe it was deep enough to convince Bevan-Baker to step aside. I have no reason not to take him at his word that family was a consideration, but the choice is definitely made easier if you have to fight a large contingent in your own party as well as the government.

Where the Greens Go from Here

As I said before I don’t think the future looks good for the Greens. What made the party special from their Plan B days is no longer present. The party is more extremist, more combative, and generally nastier— not really qualities you need to draw the average voter in. If the Liberal Party can recruit a leader from the outside that is not tied to Ghiz and his old caucus, they will most likely be the beneficiaries of frustrations with the government.

If anything members of the Greens might want to consider joining other parties. Is there really a difference between the NDP and Greens for instance? And even though the PC Party is cast as the opposite of the Greens, the truth is they are implementing a socialist agenda, maybe not as fast as the Greens, but implementing one nonetheless. With this last budget the Deputy Premier boasted of record levels of spending. The government also just released an “anti-racism” plan and the Premier promised new legislation to strengthen LGBTQ rights in the school system. And even though PEI has no discernible effect on global warming, it’s an issue that is in the news. So in reality the progressive agenda is moving along quite nicely no matter what party is elected.

What I am sure of is that King is unlikely to present the Greens with an opportunity like the one the Liberals presented to them with Plan B. Therefore, the chance for a comeback is slim, made even slimmer if for some reason Greenan happens to get more involved with the Greens. From what I can see the biggest threat he could make to a party or candidate is to publicly endorse them, you should avoid that outcome at all costs.

Let’s hope the Greens can reflect and perhaps learn something. The party had something to offer early on and I hope they can either bring that spirit back or pass it on to other parties.