Green Party leader Elizabeth May has secured her seat as MP of Saanich-Gulf Islands with 46.9% per cent of the vote. Around 61% per cent of votes are currently in for this riding.
This is the third time May has been elected to represent Saanich-Gulf Islands since 2011, and in 2015 received a whopping 55 per cent of the popular vote.
See also: People’s Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier loses seat in Quebec
Among other candidates in the riding, NDP’s Sabina Singh received 15.2 per cent of the vote, David Busch of the Conservative Party received 19.3 per cent, Liberal candidate Ryan Windsor received 17.1 per cent, and Ron Broda for the People’s Party had 1.5 per cent.
With climate change at the forefront of the average Canadian voter’s psyche, the Green Party has seen a surge in popularity.
As of the time of publication, Elections Canada shows that overall, the Greens have 6.1% of popular vote.
In the 2015 elections, they finished with 3.5 per cent of the vote and May was the only Green MP in the House of Commons.
However, this time around she will be accompanied by party candidate Jenica Atwin who won the MP seat in her riding of Fredericton, New Brunswick. Atwin is the first Green Party candidate east of British Columbia to be elected into the House of Commons.
See also: These are the 5 major candidates running for election in Saanich-Gulf Islands
As Green Party leader, May has been campaigning across the country in this year’s elections, facing off against Liberal, Conservative, NDP, PPC, and Bloc Québécois leaders in several debates.
Her environmental priorities include forming a federal Internal Cabinet with all parties to focus on climate change and get everyone on the same page, and getting Canada to net zero emissions by 2050.
May also focuses on expanding the single player medicare model to include pharmacare for everyone, establishing free dental care for low income Canadians, and increasing the National Housing Co-Investment Fund by $750 million for new builds.
