The leader of Ontario’s Green party is being urged to stick to his roots, even as Mike Schreiner contemplates a run for the leadership of another provincial political party.
Schreiner is being courted by a group of Ontario Liberals who released an open letter asking him to consider abandoning the Green Party of Ontario and entering the race to lead the Liberals, as the party attempts to rebuild its brand after two bruising election defeats.
While Schreiner is set to launch an unofficial listening tour, speaking with Liberals, Greens and constituents in his Guelph riding, a prominent member of the Green Party suggested he should stay put.
Federal Green party Leader Elizabeth May, who described Schreiner as a good friend, offered her view on whether Schreiner should take the Liberal leap.
“He needs to make the right decision and have a larger caucus of Green party members in Queen’s Park because Ontario needs him to fight what Ford is doing to the Greenbelt, to fight to real climate action, to fight for what the Liberals think is adequate climate policy,” May told journalists in Ottawa.
“That’s not Mike’s party, that’s not my party.”
In an interview with Global News, Schreiner denied having any back-channel conversations with Ontario Liberals but said he had been urged to join a larger political party with a stronger electoral history ever since the June election, which resulted in an overwhelming win for Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives.
“People have been coming up to me over the last six months saying to me, ‘You should consider running for Liberal or NDP leader,’ and I’ve been saying no.”
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While initially unconvinced, Schreiner’s stance seemed to soften after receiving the letter from a group of former Liberal cabinet ministers, one-time leadership candidates, and a current Liberal MPP asking him to consider the unprecedented step.
“You know what I think? From the letter I read, that at least there is a group of Liberals imagining a new Liberal party and are inviting me to be a part of that conversation,” Schreiner told Global News.
“I felt like I owed it to people to at least consult and at least have a conversation about, you know, how we might do politics differently.”
Asked about his personal political ambitions and whether he aims to be premier, Schreiner said he’s motivated by a desire to advance a green agenda.
“My personal ambition is really to advance the issues I care about,” Schreiner said. “Obviously forming government would be the most aggressive way to move that agenda forward.
“And so I certainly think about that when I think about, you know, the kind of Ontario I want to live in.”
Letter continues to divide Liberal insiders
The open letter to Schreiner continues to attract the scorn of Liberal party insiders who expressed concerns that the request could tarnish the party brand.
“We’re kind of handing the NDP and Doug Ford this perfectly-wrapped present where (we) have such a divide internally around what liberalism means to us that we’ve shifted from one direction to the other,” said Liberal strategist Sharan Kaur.
“And the idea that they’re trying to draft him as kind of a saviour to save the party as leader has kind of thrown everybody off.”
Kate Graham, a two-time Ontario Liberal candidate and one of the signatories of the letter, doesn’t believe Kaur’s view is a “fair critique” of the proposal.
“The Ontario Liberals have had two really rough elections. I ran in both of them. It was very hard, like brutally difficult to see, especially in 2022 — fewer voters turn out and a larger mandate given to the Ford government,” Graham said. “So we need to do something dramatic.”
“Mike has built a very grassroots-driven party. They’ve been able to do a lot with a little. We need to be able to do those things right now, too,” Graham added.
While Schreiner hasn’t offered a timeframe for when he could make a decision, Graham says the Liberals who signed the letter have little insight into what comes next.
“I don’t know how this movie will end.”
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