Have you thought about running for the Green Party? We’d like to hear from you. Please read on and contact us at the provincial or federal riding association to find out more.

Ontario and Federal elections aren’t due this year (the Ontario election is due n June 2022), but we want to be prepared as governments can call elections pretty much at will. As your local riding association executive, we’re here to help local Green Party members select a candidate to best represent Kanata-Carleton.

How does it work? Here is a quick overview of the nomination process, which is similar whether you want to run provincially (for the Green Party of Ontario to become an MPP at Queen’s Park) or federally (for the Green Party of Canada to become an MP on Parliament Hill):

Reach out to us (the riding association) or the party itself to find out what’s involved.
Prospective contestants will be vetted by the party - don’t worry - you don’t have to be a policy expert or have any political experience - but you should have some idea of Green issues and share Green values. You can learn more about Green solutions here and here.
With that complete, you’ll be a nomination contestant. Congratulations! That means you’ll be ready to seek support from Green members in Kanata-Carleton, who will vote at the nomination meeting to choose our candidate from among you and any other nomination contestants. You’ll have an opportunity to speak at the meeting but you should reach out to existing members and recruit new ones beforehand.
At the nomination meeting, members will rank the contestants (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.) on their ballot. The winner needs the preference of 50% of the members as determined by instant-runoff, so it’s important to build broad support in order to be the top-ranked candidate in the last round of evaluation.
Assuming you’re successful at the nomination meeting, you’ll be named as the nominated Green candidate for Kanata-Carleton. Once an election is called, the party will name you as our candidate. But you shouldn’t wait until an election to begin campaigning to build name recognition and get to know the people of Kanata-Carleton so they’ll choose you on election day.

The members of the riding association executive will help you understand and follow the process but of course can’t help you win the nomination as we need to treat all contestants fairly.

How about it? If you’ve thought about running for the Green Party, there has never been a better time. As we recover from the coronavirus pandemic it’s critical that we learn from this experience and apply those lessons to the ongoing climate emergency. We can’t go back to the status quo. We need a reimagined Green recovery for all!

We welcome all contestants, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity or background (you do need to be eligible to vote though: so 18+ and a Canadian citizen).

We’d like to hear from you to discuss further or answer any questions. Please contact us at the provincial or federal riding association to find out more.