They may form the smallest party in the Legislature, but Green MLAs have a big influence on provincial politics
The Green Party of New Brunswick is considered by some New Brunswickers to be the only real opposition party in the Legislature. Although it counts only three Members of the legislative assembly, or MLAs, the Greens say they exercise their privileges in the legislature to the maximum.
On a daily basis, Green MLAs speak out about issues that affect New Brunswickers, from healthcare to housing. They hold the government to account, take part in debates, and ask questions. They propose bills like the local food security bill or the bill to create a right to a healthy environment.
It’s not just about the environment: the Greens also champion other issues such as human rights, environmental justice, healthcare, and affordable housing.
Being vocal and engaged is part of the Green strategy: by being exceptionally active, they strive to hold the other parties and MLAs to account.
“I speak in the house more than most, aside from the other Greens,” says Green MLA for Memramcook-Tantramar Megan Mitton. “I feel like I have a voice that I’m able to use and put a lot of things out there.”
The Green’s influence on NB politics
Mario Levesque is a political scientist and professor at Mount Allison University in Sackville, N.B. He follows provincial politics closely and is often called upon by the media to provide his expertise and opinions on political matters.
Levesque says there’s no doubt the Green Party has a positive effect on political discourse in the province.
“As a minor party in the legislature, as a social conscience, [the Green Party] plays a good role,” he says. They bring a more moderate and collaborative tone to the table, influence public policy, committee work, and have brought forth positive changes and good ideas, in Levesque’s opinion. However, when you’re not in power, those successes often don’t get recognized by the public, he adds.
Green Party Leader David Coon, who represents the riding of Fredericton South, can point to many successes the Green Party has had over the years.
Those successes include getting a bill passed to ensure that all students in New Brunswick learn about settler-Indigenous relationships in the province and having a provincial climate action plan adopted, Coon says wouldn’t have happened otherwise.
There are also other, less obvious ways in which the Green Party influences political discourse in the province that Levesque describes as the copycat effect.
“A larger party like the Conservatives or the Liberals will steal their ideas and put them in place”, Levesque says.
It happens to the NB Greens all the time, says Coon. “When you bring bills forward and particularly if you persistent about them, it often does cause government to bring forward initiatives inspired by those bills,” he explains. For example, the Green Party was never able to pass a local food bill despite trying several times, but the province did end up implementing a local food strategy, which he suspects was inspired by Green efforts.
Although this type of thing doesn’t necessarily help the party gain votes, there’s another way to see it too: at least their ideas are getting partially implemented, and issues are moving forward. Overall, it’ s better for the province, Levesque says.
Mitton agrees. “Once we start talking about something, we raise awareness about it and educate people about it, the other parties will come along,” Mitton explains.
“Sometimes I think they’re catching up and sometimes I think they’re imitating. But we’re the real deal.”
-MLA Megan Mitton
“I am convinced that the [political] discourse in New Brunswick would be extremely different if we weren’t here,” Kevin Arseneau, Green MLA for Kent North says.
Arseneau adds that he even dares to hope, in all humility, that the Greens are redefining what it means to be an MLA in New Brunswick. He says other MLAs from the two larger parties often take their supporters for granted. Once they’ve won, he says, they sit back and assume their spot is secure for the next twenty years.
But by leading by example, Arseneau believes the Greens are showing electors what it’s like to have MLAs that work really hard.
People notice the way the Greens serve their constituents, Coon says. All three Green MLAs often get calls from citizens of other ridings asking them for help. Although the Greens have plenty of work to do in their own ridings, they always try to lend support beyond political lines.
From “social conscience” to government?
But how does a small party like the Greens make the transition from what Levesque calls the “social conscience of the province” to forming government?
Levesque says it’s clear that New-Brunswickers need a different type of politics in the province. “One that’s more moderate, one that’s more inclusive and more collaborative. That different type of politics that we need screams [David] Coon,” he says.
“But actually governing means you have to be a little more cutthroat in how you approach things.”
-Mario Levesque
Although New-Brunswick needs what the Green Party has to offer, Levesque says electors tend to vote for the opposite. It can be tough to break through, he explains.
Levesque thinks the Green party may be at a crossroads; if they play their cards right, they may be able to move beyond the social conscience role. He says they need to establish themselves as a credible alternative to the Liberals and be firm about what they want.
What the green party wants, says David Coon, is clear:
“My hope is that I would become Premier, that we would elect enough Green MLAs that we would form government.”
-Green Party Leader David Coon
Whether that’s realistic or not, he says the party needs to get a significant number of Green MLAs elected in this year’s provincial election to level the playing field with the other parties.
If the Greens want to win, Levesque says, they need to go all in.
“If [Coon] says that he wants to form government, I want to see him on the news saying that. I want to see him in the papers saying that,” he says.
Levesque also wants to see a concrete plan from the Greens in the next provincial election.
“What would a Green government do for New Brunswick in the first hundred days? Can they communicate that to New Brunswickers? If they can do that in 30 or 60 seconds, you’ve got your soundbites there. And then you can go across the province with that and say here’s what we’re going to do,” he says.
If this small team of three can define their own space and spread compelling messaging about why they should form the next provincial government, Levesque says they may well stand a chance.
