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NEW GLASGOW, N.S. — Green Party Leader Elizabeth May lost her bid to unseat Conservative Defence Minister Peter MacKay on Tuesday night, failing to secure crucial support from the riding's many New Democrats.
Ms. May had billed her candidacy in Central Nova as a David versus Goliath battle, and Goliath won. It wasn't even close.
As counting closed, Mr. MacKay had 18,239 votes — 46.6 per cent — putting him well ahead of Ms. May's 12,620 votes (32.2 per cent). The New Democrats were third with 7,657 votes.
Nonetheless, the Green Leader paraded into her campaign crowd behind two bag pipers and gave an upbeat assessment of her party's performance.
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May watches the returns on the television at her campaign headquarters in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, October 14, 2008. (Paul Darrow/Reuters)
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Elizabeth May loses to Peter Mackay
Green Leader Elizabeth May failed in her bid to unseat high-powered cabinet minister Peter MacKay in his Nova Scotia riding.
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"We will be staying in force in Central Nova because I'm not going anywhere," she said to a loud chorus of cheers. "This is not an occasion for tears friends. This is a celebration of a job well done."
The reasons for optimism include an increase in Green votes across the country, which will translate into a larger federal subsidy for the small political party.
But the results also raise questions as to how much Green support came at the expense of the Liberals, the party Ms. May had been hoping would win.
Jim Bickerton, a political scientist at St. Francis Xavier University in the riding of Central Nova, said it's unlikely the Greens were a major factor in the Liberal losses.
"I doubt if most observers would credit the Greens with the Liberal's poor showing in this election," he said. Mr. Bickerton said the Greens should be pleased with the profile of their campaign and their new high in national support.
"It's really raised the Green Party up into a status that they've never obtained previously, so I don't think they can feel disappointed in that," he said.
Ms. May later told reporters that she is open to running in a by-election to get into the House of Commons, but intends to run in Central Nova again during the next federal election.
She also noted her term as leader runs until 2010 and she has no intention of stepping down.
"My own view is I'm the best leader for this party," she said. "Nobody else could have taken it to where we are right now. The approach I've taken in politics of being honest and committing myself to issues and to higher principles resonates with voters."
Tory roots run deep in Central Nova, leaving many puzzled as to why the Green leader chose to run there. Mr. MacKay's victory is his fifth in a row. His father, Elmer MacKay, won the riding seven times before that.
Ms. May told reporters she found it remarkable that she was on pace to win more votes than the Liberals received in Central Nova in 2006.
"If there's a surprise for me, it's that the NDP vote — which fell dramatically — but still remained significant enough to make the difference and allow Peter to come up the middle."
Ms. May said she did not regret running in Central Nova, where she vowed to continue helping at the community level.
The Liberals did not run a candidate against Ms. May, which provided a sense of unpredictability — and controversy - to the race. In 2006, the NDP finished a strong second. For Ms. May to win, she would have had to secure a large chunk of that NDP support, but that did not happen.
From the first day of the campaign to the last, Ms. May followed through on her pledge to do politics differently. She rarely used planes and crossed the country from West to East by rail. She also spent about half of the campaign in Central Nova, knocking on doors and taking part in a series of packed all-candidates debates.
Shortly after the polls opened Tuesday, Ms. May babysat two young boys so that a mother she had met a day earlier while canvassing could get out and vote.
Ms. May's message was just as unconventional. Ardently opposed to the Conservative position on climate change, the career environmentalist refused to urge supporters in all ridings to vote Green. She said supporters in close ridings who are concerned a Green vote might allow a Conservative to win should consult strategic voting websites. She also repeatedly said that because she has no chance of becoming prime minister, her second choice to lead the country was Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion.
Her supporters praised Ms. May's approach as refreshing and honest. Conservatives and New Democrats criticized her as a Liberal in disguise. There was even some concern expressed among Greens, who argued a party leader should be unequivocal in supporting all Green candidates.
The pros and cons of Ms. May's campaign style are sure to be hotly debated when Greens gather in Nova Scotia within a few months for a national convention.
