The Greens spent the last Saturday of the campaign trying to gain enough support to send a second MPP to Queen’s Park.
Party leader Mike Schreiner joined candidate for Parry Sound—Muskoka Matt Richter to criss-cross the riding.
Schreiner says momentum has been building behind Richter, who is running for his fifth time to represent the riding as a Green.
“I think the biggest thing that gives me confidence is all these volunteers,” Schreiner said. “Having a huge number of volunteers out in communities all over Parry Sound-Muskoka throughout this campaign, but especially this weekend, it'll be critically important to us over these last few days.”
The Greens are in a close race for first place with the PCs in a riding that has been a PC stronghold since its creation in 1999.
While he admits the Liberals not having a candidate in Parry Sound-Muskoka may be helping, Schreiner said Richter has been able to grow support in the riding over the years.
“Matt almost got second, very strong third in the last election,” Schreiner said. “We felt we had a really good opportunity in this riding anyway, but certainly having one less candidate is a break that we just need to take advantage of.”
That same sentiment is being echoed by Richter, who is counting on a shift in priorities in voters’ minds.
“It [no Liberal candidate] has given some boost. At the same time we're learning that our riding might have been blue in the past, but the values of honesty and integrity are really what has been part of our riding. The Conservatives under Ford haven’t shown what people want in a candidate and their MPP.”
Richter’s PC challenger is Graydon Smith, the mayor of Bracebridge. He said, while Smith has built a good reputation during his time as mayor, he believes there is enough dissatisfaction with the PCs to garner enough support for the Greens.
“Graydon Smith served Bracebridge well as mayor and his heart is in the right place. Unfortunately, his party's policies don't reflect the values of our riding. Buck-a-beer, license plate stickers, bribes, that's not going to solve our housing crisis or our health-care crisis.”
In a statement, Smith said he was excited to "get it done for the people of Parry Sound—Muskoka."
"With years of political service under my belt, I have been a strong advocate for a lot people in our community over my life. I am confident that my proven track record as mayor will give me the competitive edge to win," he said.
"With a seat at the PC table, I will continue to rebuild our economy, work for workers by creating good-paying jobs and keep costs down to make life more affordable for the people in our community alongside Doug Ford."
Richter and Smith are nearly neck-and-neck according to <a href="https://www.ipolitics.ca/dashboards/ontario">Mainstreet Research</a> polling. The Green surge in support comes after the Liberals turfed their candidate over offensive and scientifically unproven claims about homosexuality.
Smith is running in the place of longtime PC MPP Norm Miller, who decided not to run again after representing the riding since 2001.
Peter Graefe, a political-science professor at McMaster University believes the situation in Parry-Sound Muskoka is happening because of the unique circumstances at play and not necessarily an indication of a Green surge across the province.
“We saw it federally, the election of the second Green Party MP. It was a sort of a similar dynamic of the Liberal candidate falling out. It produced the idea that there might be enough votes for the Greens to be competitive.”
Graefe also said Conservative voters in the riding who consider the environment an important issue and are expecting a PC win provincially would be more inclined to vote Green locally.
“The Greens are an interesting alternative in protecting the different kinds of conservatism, protecting rural life from constant emphasis just on Toronto, building highways, and pushing Toronto bigger and bigger,” Graefe said. “You're not voting for just another backbencher, you're voting in this Green voice.”
If he manages to be elected, one hurdle for Richter is remaining in power come the next election if all the major parties run candidates in the riding, but Graefe says there is still hope for Richter.
“One of the challenges is to convince voters that you're viable. The Greens have a hard time making the case, but once you're elected, you prove your viability. The voters in the riding they come to change their mind,” Graefe said. “I think that's what's happened with Mike Schreiner.”
Schreiner’s “Super Saturday” stop in Parry Sound-Muskoka was billed as the campaign’s largest event in the riding, with organizers estimating about 100 supporters scattered across different locations canvassing.
According to the campaign, Schreiner will return to the riding one more time before election day on May 31.
Editor's note: This story was updated after its initial publication with a comment from Graydon Smith.

Fifth time’s a charm? Greens push hard in Parry Sound—Muskoka

Read this for free.