Party is at 10 per cent in Prince County

Green Party may make difference in western part of province: poll

Party is at 10 per cent in Prince County

By Wayne Thibodeau
The Guardian
Saturday, May 19, 2007

The Green Party may play king maker in Prince County, according to a poll conducted by Corporate Research Associates for The Guardian.

The poll reveals support for the upstart party at 10 per cent in Prince County, the highest level of support ever recorded for the party and twice the support for the NDP, which elected a candidate in the county in 1996.

Pollster Don Mills said what is even more unusual is that the Green Party s bleeding support from the governing Progressive Conservatives - not the Liberals.

"A lot of their support is coming at the expense of the Conservative Party which really means that it's going to be a much more competitive situation in Prince County than it was last time," Mills said.

This is the first time the Green Party has run candidates in a provincial election campaign.

The party is running five candidates in Prince County.

Mills said the Green Party will not be able to muster enough support to elect a candidate in the district but he said the party may play king maker. He said if the Green Party was able to peel 10 per cent of the vote off the PCs, it would ensure a Liberal victory in a handful of Prince County districts.

A series of environmental concerns in Prince County, including high nitrate levels in East Prince, high cancer rates in West Prince and concerns about pesticide sprays throughout the county are believed to be factors.

"There's a number of seats, for instance, that were decided by five to six per cent last time. In some of those areas, for example, there's no NDP candidate whatsoever but there's a Green candidate," he said.

"The combination of those two things looks like it will favour the Liberals to win seats in Prince County."