Green Party Leader Elizabeth May said she’s “thrilled” with the results of the New Brunswick vote and what they could mean for the federal party in next year’s election.

“We’re very confident going into 2019,” May told iPolitics on Tuesday.

The outcome of the New Brunswick elections is still up in the air while officials re-count the votes in several key ridings. So far, either the Liberal or Progressive Conservative party leaders could claim the title of premier. The Conservatives under Blaine Higgs won the election with 22 seats over Brian Gallant, the incumbent Liberal premier, who won 21 seats but more of the popular vote.

Lt.-Gov. Jocelyne Roy-Vienneau has asked Gallant to form a temporary government until the Atlantic province figures out how to manage their first minority government in 100 years.

As the Liberals and Conservatives fight for power, the Greens are celebrating a momentous win. Two new MLAs — Megan Mitton and Kevin Arsenault — will join David Coon, the province’s party leader in the legislative assembly, for a total of three Green MLAs.

These victories are due largely to the “strength of David’s record” as the only Green MLA in Fredericton, May said, but they also indicate growing support for Green candidates across the country.

Their prospects look especially bright in Prince Edward Island, where voters head to the polls on or before Oct. 7.

A Corporate Research Associate poll taken on the island in August found the Greens with 38 per cent of the vote, a modest lead over the Liberals’ 35 per cent. The Conservatives followed with 20 per cent of the vote, with the remaining seven per cent going to the NDP.

Support was even higher for possible Green premier Peter Bevan-Baker, whose 38 per cent approval rating soared above Liberal incumbent Wade MacLauchlan’s 25 per cent. May said this is the last election that will matter to the Green Party’s federal result next year, as she doesn’t see much potential in Alberta.

“We actually have the possibility of forming government,” she said. “I don’t think people realize the strides we are making. We can’t be pigeon-holed.”

May says disillusionment with traditional main parties has contributed to the party’s success, along with voters’ concern about climate change.

” (Alberta Premier Rachel) Notley has made it clear (that) you can vote NDP and not vote for the climate,” May said.

Support from David Suzuki hasn’t hurt. The country’s most prominent environmentalist made headlines last week for calling Environment Minister Catherine McKenna a “hypocrite” and demanding her resignation.

“It’s so hypocritical what McKenna is doing: to say that she really is committed to what they signed in Paris and that they’re going full bore,” Suzuki told reporters while on the campaign trail with the New Brunswick Greens last week.

“They’re using the Harper targets as their criteria for what they want to do. That’s ridiculous. Harper was a rabid climate-denier, and they’re going to use his targets? What’s going on? I think McKenna should resign if she means what she says about climate change.”

Green Party support peaked at six per cent of the popular vote throughout the 2015 federal campaign. On election day, the party received just over 600,000 votes, or three per cent of the vote. May was the only Green representative elected to the House of Commons after winning the race in Saanich—Gulf Islands, B.C.

May attributes this drop in support on election day to “fear-based voting,” in which potential Green supporters piled behind Justin Trudeau and the Liberals to keep Conservative leader Stephen Harper from being re-elected for a fourth term.

A fresh slate of prime ministerial candidates this time around is encouraging for May, who said Green voters have fewer reasons to vote strategically and could instead support the party in the polls.

Although May said it would be “unwise” to talk party strategy a year before the election, she has high hopes the party can gain ground across the country in 2019.

The most promising area is British Columbia, where Andrew Weaver leads a three-person caucus that holds the balance of power in the legislature.

Frank Graves, founder and president of EKOS Research, told iPolitics last week the Greens could see a “modest breakthrough” if they concentrate all their efforts on Canada’s most westerly province. The party is polling around 20 points throughout B.C., with high points on Vancouver Island, where the party is leading in several ridings.

May was also optimistic about Ontario after Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner won a seat in the province’s recent election, representing the Greens for the first time at Queen’s Park.

Although Quebec remains a “challenge” for the party, even there, the Greens could see growth, May said. Deputy leader Daniel Green is “well-known” to French media, and could successfully communicate their message to voters in la belle province.

The Greens are hosting their annual convention in Vancouver on Sept. 28. Although she would not confirm whether party strategy would be discussed, May said she will continue to drive home her party’s message to supporters.