'We are going to make history:' Ontario Green Party launches campaign in Toronto
CBC News | Posted: May 9, 2018 9:00 AM | Last Updated: May 11, 2018
Leader Mike Schreiner, excluded from debates, is running for seat in Guelph, Ont.
Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner promised to shake up the status quo at Queen's Park during his party's campaign kick-off event Wednesday.
Schreiner highlighted several key pillars of his party's campaign platform during the announcement.
The platform includes pledges for green jobs, affordable housing, preventative healthcare, improved public transit and a universal basic income.
"That's the future we are fighting for in this election," Schreiner said to a crowd of supporters and candidates in downtown Toronto.
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During his brief speech, Schreiner derided Ontario's major parties for their tactics during the run-up to the campaign.
He called Monday's debate between Liberal Leader Kathleen Wynne, PC Leader Doug Ford and NDP leader Andrea Horwath "a three-ring circus," and said voters will have an appetite for a new option on June 7.
"We are going to make history and we are going to elect Ontario's first Green MPPs," he told the crowd.
Schreiner, whose party did not have a seat when the legislature was dissolved on Tuesday, is running in Guelph.
Last month, Schreiner unveiled portions of his party's election platform alongside federal Green Party Leader Elizabeth May and environmentalist David Suzuki. Schreiner's speech focused on climate change and doing politics differently.
He also discussed raising the minimum wage while also lowering payroll taxes for businesses.
Schreiner will have fewer opportunities to make his pitch to voters than the three other party leaders, after he was excluded from the three scheduled debates.
His workaround during Monday's debate was to tweet his answers to each question posed.