Yesterday the announcement went out that the major networks that will be broadcasting the leaders debate on Oct.1st will allow Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party, to participate. 
That means the debate will have five podiums, not just four, which will stand in front of leaders from the Conservatives (Stephen Harper), the Liberals (Stephane Dion), the New Democrats (Jack Leyton), the Bloc Québécois (Gilles Duceppe), and now the Green Party. This is in the wake of an announcement (2 days ago) that, due to major party leader protests, May would be banned from the debates or the debates would not take place at all. What a thrilling time for democracy! The recognition that a party that took 4.5% of the votes in the 2006 election (which secured them federal funding) and is running 306 candidates in the upcoming election (there's a total of 308 ridings for those of you who don't remember) is not a "fringe party".
FYI the Conservatives and Liberals got 36.3% and 30.2% respectively, the NDP got 17.5%, and the Bloc got about 10.5%. So 4.5% isn't too shabby considering the next most popular group was independants with about 0.5% (to illustrate: that wouldn't even fill the Green Bay stadium pictured to the left. I'm sure they all car-pooled) and like 1/4 of those votes were won by one guy (André Arthur who was elected as an independent candidate in the Quebec City-area riding of Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier) and he won a seat for that! A little over 20,000 votes as opposed to the Greens over 660,000 votes (that would fill Lambeau stadium like 9 times). Does that make sense!? He's running again you know, does that mean he should he be included in the leaders debates? Yes he should if all we are basing inclusion on is whether or not a party has a seat in the House of Commons (which is why Jim Harris was excluded from the debates in 2006). Obviously Andre isn't the leader of a federal party so he shouldn't be included on those grounds but hey, neither is Gilles, he only represents one province so why is he there? 
Plus, with separatist support at an all time low since 1993, current polls suggest the Greens may beat out the Bloc this time popularity-wise. But I digress because now the Greens have an MP and with more than a little cajoling by the concerned voting public, threats of legal action by the Greens, and some recent yet bland changes of heart by the major party leaders, the Greens are in the debates. Huzzah!
"Now wait a minute!", you might say (if you were paying attention to the above bracketed sidebars), "why are the Greens only running 306 candidates this year when last year they ran 308?". Good question! Well the Greens and the Liberals have agreed not to run opposing candidates in their leaders ridings. That means May, who does not have a seat, but has chosen to run in the Nova Scotia riding of Central Nova (currently held by Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay). The Greens won only 2% of the vote there in 2006 but they are currently a close 3rd in the polls. In turn the Liberals gain an ally to support their new pro-Green image (Green candidate Gilles Mercier was not a significant threat to Stephane's seat in the last election but neither was anyone else). By the way, this deal was sited as one of the complaints against letting May into the debate. Oh, and the Greens also won't be opposing Bill Casey in the Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley district (which is in Nova Scotia). He's an independent but the Greens like him, he used to be a Conservative but he was expelled from the party when he refused to support Harper's 2007 budget that didn't honour the Atlantic Accord (Oh that makes sense because he's an MP from Nova Scotia! Right!). Remember that? That time the Conservatives didn't honour the Atlantic Accord? Yeah. Anywho, now the Conservatives have all his campaign money and are using it to run a candidate against him and it is quite the soap opera! So the Greens figure it's the least they can do. They talk about the story here on the Green Party website.
The Green Party of Canada is part of a global alliance of Green parties founded on 6 key principles: ecological wisdom, non-violence, social justice, sustainability, participatory democracy, and respect for diversity. The 2008 political platform will be released soon but the 2006 platform included such gems as reforms to mass transit systems, health care, and taxation and implementation of legislation concerning equity and support for women, the priorities of Aboriginal peoples, arts and culture, National Parks, health care, human rights and immigration, animal cruelty, government accountability, and, of course, protection of ecologically sensitive areas, decreasing pollution, and the like.They're also into subsidizing and lowering tuition costs, providing affordable housing, electoral reform, tax cuts for low-income Canadians, revitalizing our international role as peace-keepers, fair trade, long walks and sunsets. Their pet peeves are sad kittens and mean people. While some might argue there plans are ultimately too naive to put into place, I think the transparent optimism of their goals is what makes them such a popular alternative choice. Even if they won't realistically become the next leading party or official opposition, I think that recognizing the importance of this message is a very smart move by the Liberals.
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