‘I don’t think about the other parties’: Elizabeth May dismisses vote-splitting concerns

WATCH ABOVE: Global’s Vassy Kapelos sits down one-on-one with Green Party leader Elizabeth May

VANCOUVER – Despite polls showing the NDP in the lead, Green Party leader Elizabeth May isn’t worried about splitting the vote in her home province of B.C.

“I don’t think about the other parties actually much at all,” May told Global News in an interview Wednesday. “We’re offering British Columbians the strongest voice in Parliament.”

READ MORE: Green Party platform promises cash for infrastructure, eliminate tuition

May is currently the Green Party’s only elected member of parliament. Bruce Hyer, the other, crossed the floor from the NDP in 2013.

The Green Party  also released their full election platform Wednesday, pledging billions of dollars for the environment, infrastructure, health care and support for seniors – all without running a deficit.

May says she expects her party to have presence in B.C., but didn’t pinpoint by how many seats.

“We’re the only party that is prepared to say that we won’t allow tankers out of this port right behind me,” May said, referring to Vancouver’s port.

“We’re the only party that is offering British Columbians and committing to British Columbia that we will defend our coast.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We're the only party that is offering British Columbians and committing to British Columbia that we will defend our coast."

Though Conservatives hold a majority of seats in B.C., the NDP is currently polling as much as ten points ahead of every party.

READ MORE: Mulcair, Trudeau, Harper campaigning in vote-rich Ontario

University of British Columbia political scientist Max Cameron thinks many British Columbians who could vote either NDP or Green will direct their vote to the party they believe has the best chance of beating Conservatives.

“The Greens have a real problem, which is that they may be closer to the preferences of some progressive voters but the danger is that they could divide the vote,” Cameron said. “I think that’s likely something that will suppress the Green vote.”

Cameron does, however, think May’s seat on Vancouver Island is fairly safe.

At a campaign stop in Niagara Falls, NDP leader Tom Mulcair dismissed concerns the Greens could take away NDP votes in other parts of B.C. – though he wouldn’t mention the Green Party or May by name.

“I always try to respect my adversaries and that doesn’t change from party to party, because they all have their different strengths,” he said. “But I do know that in B.C. and across Canada, people want change”

May is adamant British Columbians, among others, will see it differently.

“We want…Canada to wake up to a big Green surprise the morning after the election.”