Green Party candidate Samantha Troy (Photo supplied)
More than halfway into the federal election campaign, the Green Party of Canada has found a candidate willing to put her name on the ballot in South Okanagan-West Kootenay (SOWK).
Samantha (Sam) Troy, of Rossland, said she has only been involved with the Green Party for about four weeks, but decided to step forward when she read in her local paper that the Greens had no local candidate.
“It just resonated with me,” she said. “I’m pretty much an average sort of citizen of the area for a long time. I try to keep up with current events, and I haven’t really had affiliations with political parties, but I have a lot of respect for the Green Party and their platform and (leader) Elizabeth May.”
The party, she said, is aiming to run candidates in all of Canada’s 338 electoral districts, but SOWK was one of just a few ridings with no Green candidate.
Riding association members in the party voted in support of her candidacy on Sept. 13, although she was the only one seeking the nomination.
“I’m not seasoned,” she admits, saying she’s never before run for elected office.
The single mother of an 11-year-old son said she’s worked in forestry all her life, much of that time as a tree planter, but in the past 10 years she’s worked at Red Mountain Ski Resort in different capacities.
“I’d like voters to know that I’m a long-term citizen,” she said. “I know this area well, because I’ve been here for a long time. I think I share many common concerns and I think the Green Party offers a really substantial and sustainable platform and vision.”
Born in Vancouver, Troy spent her early years in New Zealand until she was school age. She grew up in Kamloops, before obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in literature and history at the University of British Columbia in 1996.
Her next educational goal is to start a Master’s degree in environmental studies focusing on urban micro farming, in particular farming insects for human consumption.
Her nomination pits her against environmentalist Richard Cannings, running for the NDP, who last week was one of just 18 candidates across Canada endorsed by the non-partisan GreenPAC for his “strong environmental track record.”
Troy said she shares the concern of some that her candidacy could split environmentalists, thereby helping to elect Conservative Marshall Neufeld.
“But ultimately, I believe that you can’t split a vote,” she said. “Everyone has one vote and everyone has an obligation to use it wisely. And that includes looking at all the platforms.”
If the 2011 election results were transposed to the present riding boundaries, the Greens would have had eight per cent of the vote.
In last week’s Insights West poll, the NDP had a seven per cent lead over the Conservatives in SOWK.
Despite acknowledging concern that she may tip the balance by drawing votes away from Cannings, Troy adds: “Nevertheless, I believe more strongly in our right to have someone on the ballots.”
Asked about the differences between herself and Cannings, Troy paused for a moment to reflect.
“I think that the Green Party has really stayed diligent on a very consistent platform about economic and environmental reform for quite some time,” she said. “While I don’t want to accuse the NDP of playing catch-up, I would say that the Green Party has been more consistent with that platform. From what I’ve read of the NDP platform, there’s lots of fantastic points, and I wouldn’t want to denigrate them at all.”
As a representative of a political party which had a seat in the last Parliament, Troy was invited to participate in a Penticton candidates’ forum on Monday from which the independent candidates were excluded.
Her first candidates’ forum was in Castlegar last Thursday.
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
