It’s hard enough for Green candidates to campaign. Annamie Paul’s leadership fight isn’t helping
OTTAWA - It's not going to be easy for Green candidate Phil De Luna to win in the Liberal stronghold of Toronto-St. Paul's.
The drama surrounding Green Leader Annamie Paul is making it even harder.
Touring the neighbourhoods of the riding, De Luna said he's encountered people who are upset by reports that Paul - a Black and Jewish woman - is facing challenges from within her own party. He said he's been called an anti-Semite. Others have said he hates Palestine.
I try not to take it personally," De Luna said by phone on Thursday, describing how he explains that he is running due to his concern about climate change, a lack of affordable housing, and supports for essential workers.
No leader is without imperfections, and Annamie Paul is no exception to that. However, this is a campaign, and I truly believe the Green party needs to rally around Annamie Paul and set aside what has been - in my view - a lot of internal party infighting," he said.
It hasn't been able to, to rally around and get past that, just yet."
De Luna is among 218 Green candidates nominated as of Friday in Canada's 338 ridings for the Sept. 20 election. The party limped into the campaign strapped for cash and divided over Paul's leadership after months of party infighting that included accusations of poor leadership, racism, sexism, and anti-Semitism amid a heated argument over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - hence the allegations De Luna is hearing in Toronto-St. Paul's.
Amid the factionalism, top officials reported in late July that the party was near a financial tipping point" where it would no longer be able to run an effective national campaign. And Paul - forgoing the traditional leaders' tour that is a campaign mainstay for major parties - said this week that she will spend most of the federal election in Toronto Centre, another Liberal bastion where she is trying for a third time to win a seat in Parliament.
But the Greens' campaign machine appears to be revving up. After reporting weeks ago that the party had less than $300,000 in the bank, interim executive director Dana Taylor confirmed to the Star on Friday that the Greens have received a loan to finance the campaign.
The loan - which he pegged at under" $2 million - will be enough" for the party in the current election, he said.
It's a far cry from the money other parties plan to spend. The NDP, for example, has budgeted around $24 million for the current election.
But the Greens have never been a big-money political organization. The party spent around $2.5 million during the last federal election in 2019, and won three seats - its best result ever.
Many candidates - including the party leader - plan to finance their own campaigns through local fundraising. De Luna said he's raised $36,000 through his riding association so far, and has around 100 volunteers working with him. He's also editing his own videos and has developed his own mobile campaign app to track potential voters.
In Fredericton, Nicole O'Byrne is trying to defeat Liberal incumbent Jenica Atwin, who defected from the Greens in June. O'Byrne said she's not concerned about the recent party infighting and that her team is only focused" on Fredericton. Like De Luna's campaign in Toronto, O'Byrne said she hasn't received financial support from the central party but is raising money locally.
But that doesn't mean the national headquarters isn't helping. O'Byrne said her campaign is getting advice, training for volunteers and help drafting campaign literature from the party. The candidates also have access to G-Vote, the Green party's digital tool for tracking voters.
They've been very, very supportive," O'Byrne said.
In Guelph, where the Ontario Greens hold the provincial seat at Queen's Park, federal candidate Michelle Bowman also said the party is supporting her campaign in these ways.
I'm sure if the central party has any extra money, they'll throw it our way," said Bowman. But we do have a new leader that's trying to be elected in a tough riding. So to be honest, I'd rather if they had any extra money - I'd rather they send it to Annamie Paul."
But while local campaigns are expressing confidence, the party's national campaign still does not have a single manager like all the other major parties. Instead, the operation is being run by a team of people, said Taylor, the party's executive director. That includes Taylor, Paul's executive assistant Victoria Galea, and a host of other fundraising officials and strategic advisers, Taylor said.
The party also recalled Galea and another member of Paul's office who were laid off earlier this summer because of the party's financial situation, the Star has confirmed. The party has also posted nine job openings on its website.
After months of tensions between Paul and members of the Greens' federal council, she was accused in June by unnamed members of showing a hostile" and autocratic" attitude - allegations Paul dismissed as racist" and sexist." She was also blamed by some in the party, including former leader Jim Harris, of failing to prevent Atwin from crossing the floor to the Liberals, and for failing to condemn a former aide who accused unnamed Green MPs of anti-Semitism during the conflict this spring between Palestinians and Israel.
The federal council was poised to hold a confidence vote on Paul's leadership, until an independent arbitrator ruled in July that the vote should be deferred. The arbitrator also staved off a review of Paul's membership that could put her leadership in question if party officials decide to revive it.
Alex Ballingall is an Ottawa-based reporter covering federal politics for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @aballinga