Jessica Wegg: the Green Party candiate

Cortes Currents

English - July 04, 2021 14:55 - 13 minutes - 30 MB
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Roy L Hales/ CKTZ News - Human rights lawyer and climate activist Jessica Wegg will be the Green Party candidate for North Island-Powell River during the next Federal election.

“We can’t keep having 40 degree summers in Comox, or wildfires destroying towns. There were tornadoes in Washington DC yesterday. It is so obvious, so apparent and completely unsustainable. And I need to know that I did everything in my power to make it better,” she said.

According to Philippe J Fournier, of Macleans Magazine and the website 338Canada, the rumours swirling around Ottawa suggest the election will be in late summer or early next fall.

“Crunching the numbers over the weekend, the only question that kept popping in my head is: Why?” he wrote.

Recent polls suggest that if the election were held now, there would be another Liberal minority government.

The most recent 338Canada’s projection was made a week ago, at which point the Greens were leading in two Vancouver Island ridings: Saanich-Gulf Islands (a safe seat) and Nanaimo-Ladysmith (where they allegedly lead by a mere 1%).

During the weeks leading up to the last Federal election, 338Canada’s projects often showed the Greens leading in four of the seven island ridings. North Island-Powell River wasn’t one of them, but in late August they were shown within 5% of the leading NDP. This groundswell of support disappeared in the week prior to the election and two Green MPs went to Ottawa.

“I know that the Green Party made a strong showing in the last election and that was with people from the NDP telling them that they were going to split the vote, and it was a wasted vote. Making people think they would have to vote orange otherwise the Liberals or Conservatives were going to win,” said Jessica Wegg.

“People can’t be afraid anymore and I think they are seeing that. We have to focus on what is in our hearts and what we know. I think people are ready to do that.”

Photo credit: Jessica Wegg and her son at the provincial legislature - courtesy Jessica Wegg