Federal Green Party wins seat in byelection upset
Posted May 6, 2019 9:58 pm.
Last Updated May 7, 2019 5:28 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
NANAIMO (NEWS 1130) – The Green Party’s Paul Manly has been elected MP of Nanaimo-Ladysmith in Monday’s byelection.
Manly is a researcher, filmmaker and communications specialist, and has been operating a small business for 18 years.
Seven candidates ran in the federal riding, which was vacated when former NDP MP Sheila Malcolmson resigned in January to successfully run for the B.C. New Democrats in the provincial riding. The Nanaimo area has traditionally swung back and forth between New Democrat or Conservative-leaning MP’s, but the win follows recent Green Party upsets across the country.
RELATED: Green Party breakthrough in PEI could signal trouble for federal Liberals, NDP: experts
The Green Party made history in the recent Prince Edward Island provincial election by becoming the official opposition — the first time that has happened in Canada.
This is the last byelection before the coming federal election, and political experts and party officials say it is a test run before October’s vote. This is the third election in eight months for residents of the Vancouver Island city.
With people across the country expected to cast their ballots in the fall, there isn’t much time for Manly to make an impression on Parliament Hill.
Other candidates in the riding included Jennifer Clarke for the People’s Party of Canada, Liberal Michelle Corfield, Conservative John Hirst, Jakob Letkemann of the National Citizens Alliance, the NDP’s Bob Chamberlin, and Brian Marlatt of the Progressive Canadian Party. The riding has 99,413 eligible voters and a population of 122,710 people.
