Travis Mason, the Green Party candidate for St. Catharines, said he encourages frustrated electorate to think about their vote as a source of renewable energy. Photo by iPolitics reporter Rachel Emmanuel.

He never planned to run for public office but is now encouraging a frustrated electorate to think about their vote as a source of renewable energy.

“It’s something that takes 18 years to grow, and then once we have it, it lasts a lifetime,” said Travis Mason, the Green Party candidate for St. Catharines.

The Southern Ontario riding has never elected a Green candidate before but Mason said he’s been well-received while door-knocking. The former English professor chose to run under the Green banner after talking with his girlfriend about the climate crisis, their future, and the future of her three children.

Mason said he’s spoken to many voters who feel disenfranchised by the first-past-the-post voting system and finds it “heartbreaking” that some don’t want to vote anymore. His response is first to listen but then to remind voters that only two parties have formed government in Canadian history, and their frustrations should be reserved for the Liberals and Conservatives.

“Not voting isn’t going to show the old-line parties that you’re frustrated,” he said.

And while he’s not willing to predict who will win St. Catharines on Monday, Mason said a sizeable population of young people will be voting for the first or second time next week.

“If this past year of climate action led by Greta Thunberg is anything to go by, I think a lot of young people are looking to vote Green,” he said.

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Mason also said he’s spoken to voters who are undecided and doing their research, or strategic voters who feel the need to vote against something. He said the Greens try to discourage fear-based voting because the “green ethos” is about focusing on policy, rather than attacking other political parties and leaders.

His sentiments were similar to those shared by party leader Elizabeth May, who, in an interview with iPolitics last week, said the Greens have done its best to be fair to the other parties. May said she thinks the Green Party offers a “solid alternative to all voters, including those people who have been so disgusting with politics that they haven’t voted for a long time.”

Mason said he doesn’t think the other parties recognize the urgency of the climate crisis in their policies.

“Any climate plan that continues to support the fossil fuel industry through new pipelines and through oil and gas subsidies is not going to be able to meet the targets necessary to keep the global average temperature at or below 1.5 C,” he said.

The Green Party has pledged to expand Canada Post services to include charging stations for electric vehicles, banking services for rural communities, and home check-ups for seniors. Mason, a Canada Post mail carrier, said the policies are a progressive way of looking at Canada Post and expanding its services while keeping it out of the private sector.

Mason also said a Green government would increase funding for the CBC and encourage the arts and culture sector because it’s “low in terms of carbon footprint,” but also because it’s important to him after he spent seven years teaching Canadian studies and literature — knowledge he’s hoping to carry into politics.

“I am not a typical politician or a career politician, but I think my experience and background will enable to me to do politics in a way that isn’t influenced by the status quo,” Mason said.

Voters head to the polls on Oct. 21.