It's a rare news article that mentions the GPC that does not also mention the fact that we don't have an elected MP in Parliament. On occasion, the reporter will also note that the GPC has not done as well as Green parties that have participated in governing coalitions in other countries. Consider the following quote about the GPC from a University of Toronto professor in this CTV article:

"They've improved slowly. Compared to other countries they're very behind. I think of Germany where they did so well their leader was minister of foreign affairs," Clarkson says.

But are we very behind? Joschka Fischer, the German minister in question, was appointed when the Greens formed a coalition government with the Social Democratic Party, despite winning only 7% of the vote (and 47 of 669 seats in the Bundestag). In the recent election in Austria, the Greens finished third with 11% of the vote (and 21 of 183 seats in the National Council), and may yet form part of a governing coalition.

That 7% level of support is the likely percentage that the GPC could win if an election were to be held today. The Austrian results are similar to our high-end polling numbers, currently around 10%. Our election day results are more likely to approach that higher number in an electoral system other than the first past the post system used in Canada, since issues such as strategic voting and the feeling of "wasting" a vote will be of less concern to voters who support smaller parties. So, Clarkson's statement needs to be qualified: the GPC is not behind Green parties in other counties in terms of popular support. Rather, we are behind because of an electoral system that is to our disadvantage.

Canada has been flirting with proportional representation in recent years, with an initiative in British Columbia being narrowly defeated in 2005. (It will likely be voted on again in 2008.) Several other provinces are exploring the issue, and last year the Law Commission of Canada recommended that Canada adopt a mixed member proportional electoral system at the federal level.

So, what next? The first thing GPC supporters can do is support electoral reform in their province, and support initiatives promoted by groups like Fair Vote Canada. We also need to have patience, and recognize that electoral reform of any sort will take time. There are reasons why the Canadian electoral system is the way that it is, and, regardless of the system, the GPC has to be willing and able to work well with other parties if we want to make progress on issues that are important to us.  In the meantime, we will continue to grow and our influence will continue to increase.

The second thing to do is to focus on our growth in the long-term. I think it is possible for the GPC to win a majority regardless of the electoral system. I outlined here how this can be done by 2020. We can be successful so long as we focus on defining and meeting our own goals and objectives, rather than letting others define these goals and objectives on our behalf (e.g. elect an MP to Parliament if you want to be in the Leaders' debate). I think the Canadian electorate recognizes the inherent unfairness of such requirements, and focusing too much on them will only serve to distract us from other more important work that needs to be done.

An aside: Often, when considering political issues that seem unfair, I remember a Yogi Berra-style malapropism I heard at a debate I attended while working on the campaign of the Green Party Congressional candidate in Omaha, Nebraska. To make his point, an inexperienced candidate (not the Green Party candidate) stated that "85% of lawyers give the rest of them a bad name." It's easy to substitute "politicians" for "lawyers" when I hear politicians talk about an issue like electoral reform, yet see nothing concrete ever being done.

However, in fairness, I think that the candidate meant to say 15%. And, in fairness, I think that's the appropriate number to use for politicians as well. It's why I believe the GPC should continue to try to work with the other parties, since most of the people in those other parties are in it for the right reasons as well (even if and when we disagree). And that in turn gives me more confidence that the right political actions - like electoral reform - will get done one way or another if the issue is handled in a collaborative way.

This is one of a series of articles examining how to fix key problems facing the GPC.