This B.C. riding broke ground for the Greens. But its mostly senior population is eyeing a change
It is low tide in Sidney, B.C., and fog is settling in around the pier. Sidney lies in Saanich—Gulf Islands, a riding with the highest share of Green votes in the country.Photography by Chad Hipolito/The Globe and Mail
The Globe is visiting communities across the country to hear from Canadians about the issues affecting their lives, their futures and their votes in this federal election.
The 10 Acres Café and Market in Sidney, B.C., has two sections. The café itself faces the town’s main street, Beacon Avenue, and tourists are drawn there to sample fresh-baked pastries and espresso beverages.
Or, you can get your drink to-go and slip into the lobby of the adjoining hotel. It’s quieter here, away from the sound of baristas at work, and the tables are arranged for the locals who linger over their drip coffees and chat.
Every Tuesday, a group of retirees gather at 10 a.m. to discuss public affairs. They are retired diplomats, CEOs, lawyers and senior civil servants. What binds them is that they’ve all fled the Saskatchewan winters for Sidney’s cool Mediterranean climate, where they will rarely be called upon to shovel snow.
Manley McLachlan, left, meets up weekly for coffee with Dan Perrins and John Treleavan, right.
With the federal election campaign under way, it didn’t take much to get them going about national politics, and the matters that will shape their vote.
“This election is about serious leadership,” said Manley McLachlan, the first of the regulars to arrive. He wants the next prime minister of Canada to be someone who can take on U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to make Canada the 51st state.
“It’s a small community and whether it’s the women that are working in the thrift store, or some guy in the grocery store pushing a shopping cart next to you, you hear the word ‘Trump’ all the time,” he said.
“My wife sent me over to the grocery store to pick up some pickles for a recipe. There are three guys next to me, we’re all going through the pickles, reading the labels – I’ve never seen that before – and one guy says, ‘I can’t believe Bick’s pickles are made in the U.S.!’ That’s how top of mind it is.”
Sidney, with a population of 12,000, is one of the 13 municipalities that make up Greater Victoria. For the past four elections, Elizabeth May has been elected MP by a comfortable margin.
The U.S. President’s trade war on Canada and Mexico is changing Mr. McLachlan’s shopping habits, and it also may change how he votes. Mr. McLachlan has been voting for the incumbent, Elizabeth May, since he moved to Sidney because he believes she is a terrific constituency MP. She’s also the co-leader of the Green Party of Canada, but he’s not sure that the Greens are the best choice this time out.
“The Liberals left me 10 years ago, but once [Justin] Trudeau quit, I did something I never thought I would do. I registered as a Liberal.” He hasn’t made up his mind about how he will vote, he said, but he is impressed by the new Liberal Leader, Mark Carney.
Sidney is in the riding of Saanich–Gulf Islands, which historically hasn’t been a hotbed of progressive politics: From 1993 to 2011, the riding was represented by the Reform, Alliance, and Conservative parties in succession. Yet Ms. May moved from her home in Nova Scotia to the town of Sidney in 2009 because this riding had the highest share of Green voters in the country – it was her pathway to an electoral breakthrough.
The riding has a high proportion of seniors, especially in the retirement community of Sidney, and a higher-than-average median household income. Broadly speaking, voters here can afford to be environmentally conscious about their pristine seaside communities, located in the southern tip of Vancouver Island, and the southern Gulf Islands.
Sidney, with a population of 12,000, is one of the 13 municipalities that make up Greater Victoria. It offers a string of uncrowded beaches, a public pier that invites fishing and an abundance of bookstores. There’s an aquarium, but you won’t find performing sea mammals here – it’s a not-for-profit centre of learning, devoted to conservation of the surrounding Salish Sea.
For the past four elections, Ms. May has been elected MP by a comfortable margin.
That could change in this election, however, with early national polls pointing to a two-way race between the Liberals and the Conservatives. And in this riding, the Conservatives have been the second choice since 2011. Some long-time Green supporters in the riding told The Globe they are reverting back to the Conservatives in this contest. It is a riding to watch on election day for a possible swing.
People look for hidden treasures during lowtide at Glass beach, a scenic spot.
On this day, just three of the expat Saskatchewanians gathered for their weekly meet-up. The trio agreed about the importance of this election and Canada’s future, listened carefully to each others’ points, shared anecdotes about Saskatchewan winters and disagreed about politics with equanimity.
Dan Perrin worked as a public policy professional, and hesitated when asked how he’ll vote. “Over time, I’ve voted for everybody.” He admires his local MP, Ms. May, and he usually votes for the candidate he likes best, rather than a political party.
In this election, however, he said the stakes are too high to vote based on local preference. “In the current situation, I think it would be a wasted vote,” he said. “I have no sense of who the local Liberal candidate is, but I have to vote for Mr. Carney’s party.”
John Treleaven settled into his seat to join his friends and, trade war notwithstanding, said he won’t change his vote. “I’m voting for Elizabeth. I’ve got her sign on my yard.” His loyalty to the Green MP is based on her work for the constituency, not her party’s platform.
The election is about the future of Canada in the face of the U.S. trade threat, he said. “It’s about strengthening this country to withstand what appears to be a fairly tectonic shift in our alliances, occasioned, of course, by the new administration south of the border.”
Mr. Treleaven spent three decades pushing for the removal of interprovincial trade barriers as a senior pubic servant and he is pleased that Mr. Carney is promising swift action on this front. “I’ve got the highest regard for Mark Carney. He should be the prime minister of this country with an electoral majority,” he declared.
After nursing their once-hot drinks for 90 minutes, the weekly meeting adjourned.