Canada PoliticsElizabeth May wades into Ontario politics, evokes election that brought Stephen Harper into power
Saying that it's "careless" for any federal leader to wade into a provincial election, Elizabeth May is speaking out.
On Tuesday, the Green Party leader penned an open-letter to Ontario voters the federal Green Party leader starts off by saying kind things about her provincial counterpart, Mike Schreiner.
That's not the surprising part.
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May, however, then goes on to slam Andrea Horwath, blame the NDP leader for voter disengagement and seems to tacitly compliments Liberal leader Kathleen Wynne.
"I have grown increasingly concerned watching Andrea Horwath essentially promote the election of a Conservative administration under Tim Hudak. Strong NDP supporters have publicly condemned her cynical approach.
"I sense that many progressive voters are so dispirited that they may not turn out to vote. Low voter turnout in advance polls is a bad sign. I make no bones about it: I respect Kathleen Wynne. I do not like all Liberal policies; nor do I support any provincial party other than the Greens. But there is a level of partisanship that exceeds sense, and Ms. Horwath now exemplifies it.
"There is one thing that can ride to the rescue in the dying days of this campaign: a surge in citizen action. Don't think of it as an action to support any politician. Think of it as supporting your own family, neighbourhood and community. Young and old, whether traditionally Liberal, NDP, Green or PC, get out and vote! Bring friends to vote with you! We need to rise above that sense of disgust, and strike out in faith and hope to reclaim Ontario's future."
In a telephone interview with Yahoo Canada News, on Wednesday morning, May, notes that she isn't the first person to be critical of Horwath's decision to force an election.
"I think that a lot of NDP supporters of long-standing were critical of her decision to announce that she would not support a budget that was extremely aligned with NDP traditional demands," she said.
"We've been through this federally before with the decision that was made in 2005 by the NDP and to work with the Conservatives and the Bloc to bring down a minority Liberal government under Paul Martin. It's how Stephen Harper got into power."
[ Related: Why voter turnout for the Ontario election could be the worst ever ]
She also made it clear that she's not advocating for any sort of strategic voting to defeat Tim Hudak — she just wants people to vote.
"If the single largest voting block in the 2011 election had formed government, do you know what it would have been? The Stayed-At-Home party," she said.
"I look at how dispiriting the campaign has been.
"I know it's careless for a federal party leader to say anything but what I'm saying is please please please Ontarians think about this: In the last federal election, if even half of the people who stayed at gone out to vote, the election results would have different. That's what people need to think about."
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