GREEN Party candidate Paul Manly has won in the Nanaimo-Ladysmith federal riding (see updated results below).
He will be the second Green Party MP, joining party leader Elizabeth May in the House of Commons.
According to the Green Party website, Manly was born in Port Alice on Vancouver Island. He has travelled widely and lived in other parts of Canada but Nanaimo and Ladysmith have always been home. His grandfather had a farm just outside of Nanaimo and Paul spent his formative years growing up in Ladysmith. He has been living in Nanaimo since 2002.
As a researcher, filmmaker and communications specialist, Paul has committed his skills and knowledge to the creation of media that educates, informs and adds to public dialogue on issues of importance.
In conjunction with his work as a front-line community organizer, Paul produced videos that launched or boosted major campaigns including exposing the secretive Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), the Kinder Morgan expansion project and campaigns to protect local community drinking watersheds on Vancouver Island. He has worked on a number of educational projects related to aboriginal culture, mental health, health care, environmental stewardship and economic alternatives collaborating with Aboriginal, environmental and social justice organizations.
Paul has a diploma in Broadcasting from Algonquin College in Ottawa and a degree in Media Studies and Global Studies from Vancouver Island University. He has a keen interest in international relations and international trade and how trade agreements affect democratic decision making at all levels of governance. In addition to owning and operating his own small business for the past 18 years, Paul has extensive management experience in the private and non-profit sectors at both the national and international level.
Paul has proven experience in governance. He has sat on the boards of national and regional organizations and is currently a director of the Mid Island Consumer Services Cooperative.
Paul is married, has two daughters age 18 and 31 and a two-year-old granddaughter.
The other main candidates:
* NDP: Bob Chamberlin, former vice president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs
* Conservatives: John Hirst, Sun Life Financial manager
* Liberals: Michelle Corfield, a First Nations leader who served as chair of the Nanaimo Port Authority
ANDREW Weaver, Leader of the B.C. Green Party, said in a statement on Monday night:
“It gives me great honour to offer my congratulations to Paul Manly, MP-elect for Nanaimo-Ladysmith and Canada’s second elected Green MP. Paul ran a principled campaign on a powerful vision for his community. I am pleased Elizabeth has such an extraordinary colleague to join her in Ottawa.
“Whether it is the changing economy, widening income inequality, the housing crisis, or the climate disaster, Greens across the country have become important contributors in the political landscape. Canadians are increasingly aware that the approach of the old parties is no longer sufficient to meet the problems of the 21st century. We need bold, innovative solutions, grounded in evidence, and paired with a fresh vision to transform humanity’s greatest challenges into our greatest opportunities.”
