OTTAWA -- The Green Party endured some major setbacks this federal election, but among the blunders was one major victory: gaining its first seat in Ontario.
Rookie MP Mike Morrice is to credit for that.
Morrice, the representative for Kitchener Centre, will be one of only two Green MPs in the House of Commons when Parliament returns. Former party leader Elizabeth May holds the second seat.
Morrice has been a dedicated climate activist for 15 years.
In 2008, he founded Sustainable Waterloo Region, a non-profit organization that helps local businesses become more environmentally and economically sustainable. As it gained national attention, he founded Green Economy Canada, to help companies across the country reduce their carbon impact.
He decided to enter into the federal political ring in the 2019 election, but lost out to former Liberal MP Raj Saini.
Asked why, as a successful environmental entrepreneur, he wanted to pivot into politics, Morrice provided two answers.
He said itās become abundantly clear that chipping away at the climate crisis requires strong leadership at the highest levels of government.
āIf we want to actually follow the science on the climate crisis, if we want to be honest about whatās needed to address some of the biggest systemic challenges we face, weāre going to need to change public policy,ā he said in an interview with CTVNews.ca.
āWe need to set the rules of the game in a way that incentives the kind of behaviour that we know scientists, Indigenous leaders, and young peopleā¦ have been calling out for.ā
His second reasoning is more āexistential.ā
āWhatās the point of anything else if our nieces and nephews and kids and grandkids donāt have a safe climate future. That sense of calling kind of grew,ā he said.
Morrice is one of 50 rookie MPs elected in the 2021 federal election. CTVNews.ca is profiling fiveāone from each party with a seat in the Commonsā in the lead up to the first sitting day of the 44th Parliament.
Morrice said he learned from his first campaign experience that a candidate gains more from listening to, as opposed to talking at, constituents.
And what he heard this fall, were more of the same concerns he heard in 2019: less affordable housing, less access to vital health-care services, and longer wait times for long-term care.
āSo many of these priorities, yes, I heard about them in 2019, but the sense of grieving and the depth of the challenge for so many in my community seems to have only been made worse,ā he said.
He said he also heard from voters whoāve grown tired of hyper-partisan political games in Ottawa.
āSo many people in my community donāt care whose name is on the bill, it doesnāt matter which party has put it forward, [they] just want to ensure that we make progress on ensuring universal pharmacare gets passed through, that we address gaps in health care,ā he said.
Morriceās objective is to venture to Ottawa open-minded, and ready to collaborate with politicians of all stripes, though he acknowledged the strategy could sound naïve.
āI recognize there are coercive forces at play in all of this,ā he said. āIām going to be respectful, even more so if we donāt agree, and thatās as much true at someoneās doorstep as I think it should be true in the House of Commons.ā
Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner, whoās known Morrice for over a decade, says heās confident heāll be able to bring a ānew approachā to politics ā something the Guelph MPP is attempting to do at the provincial level.
āIāve been a very strong critic of the Ford government just ripping up Ontarioās climate action plans, cancelling renewable energy contractsā¦ but when a member of the Conservative caucus approached me about co-sponsoring a bill to make life better for electric vehicle drivers, I said yes, letās work on this together,ā Schreiner said in an interview with CTVNews.ca.
āI would encourage MPs from all parties to take the opportunity to really get to know Mike and work with Mike, because heās there for the right reasons.ā
The Green Party faced its fair share of infighting leading up to the 2021 campaign.
There were vocal calls from within the party to oust leader Annamie Paul, after an internal dispute with Fredericton MP Jenica Atwin, who defected to the Liberals in June.
Morrice, however, said Paul has been āhugelyā supportive of his political journey.
āAnnamie was here in Kitchener with us in the days before the election. She was with us at the nomination party back in the spring,ā he said. āIāve made clear my support for her as leader while also respecting her decision to begin the process of resigning.ā
Asked whether heād have a go at leadership, Morrice said heās focused on his job ahead as an MP.
āWeāre staffing up. Weāve got a lot to follow through on in terms of the commitments that myself and our team have madeā¦and so my focus is on that work, on being a strong MP, on learning to do that job well,ā he said.
Heās promised his Kitchener Centre constituents that heād continue to listen and be respectful of their needs while in Ottawa.
āThat to me is the bedrock of our democracy. I see this role as being a voice for my neighbours in Ottawa,ā he said, adding that action on housing affordability, access to mental health services, and fighting climate change will be among his top priorities.
Schreiner said heās encouraged Morrice to be a dedicated constituency MP.
āTo have somebody with his connection to community, the way he connects climate action to improving peopleās lives and improving our economy ā to have that type of person, their voice in Ottawa, I think itās good for Canada and Kitchener Centre as well,ā he said.
Beyond the halls of Parliament, Morrice says heās looking forward to exploring some new bike trails in and around Ottawa.
āThere are some great trails so Iām hoping to have a chance to be on my bike againā¦I think itās so important that we have elected officials who are doing the work, but also taking care of themselves,ā he said.
