Finally, some analysis that definitely proves that the GPC is attracting voters from across the political spectrum.  Bruce Anderson from Decima Research wrote an article for CP that summarizes recent voting trends.  The article includes a detailed analysis of where voters who have switched parties have come from, and where they are going to.  This information is often hard to come by, so here are the details:

• The Conservatives have done better at retaining the support of those who voted for them in 2006, losing only 15 per cent of their supporters. The lost points went to the Liberals (six per cent), the NDP (four per cent) the Green Party (three per cent) and the BQ (one per cent).
• The Liberals have lost 22 per cent of their 2006 voters. Ten per cent went to the Conservatives, five to the NDP, five to the Greens and just one per cent to the BQ.
• The BQ has lost 23 per cent of its support, with six per cent siphoned off by the Conservatives, six per cent to the Greens, five per cent to the NDP, and only three to the Liberals.
• The NDP has lost a quarter of its support  an even 25 per cent. Ten per cent went to the Liberals, seven per cent to the Greens, 5 per cent to the Conservatives, and 1% to the BQ.

Other parties (and the NDP in particular) periodically try to resurrect the long-discredited argument that running and voting for Green candidates are actions that help their candidate to lose and some other "bad" candidate (like a Conservative) to win.  I hope Mr. Anderson's article will finally lay that argument to rest.

Recent years have shown that the more support the Green Party has, the more we are able get.  I think the lesson to be learned is that voting for your first choice is the best strategic vote you can make.  In the long-term, such votes have incrementally increased the Green Party's base level of support.  That is important to other voters leaning Green since it adds legitimacy to our stated expectations that we can win.