VANCOUVER—Amid intense political speculation over a divided progressive vote ahead of October’s general election, the Green party’s candidate in the riding where the Trans Mountain pipeline ends, launched her campaign on Friday saying voters are ready for a change.

The controversy over Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project — which has so suffused political debate in the Burnaby-North Seymour riding — has become emblematic of a larger national fight between advocates for both industry and the environment, with climate concerns promising to drive voters to the ballot box in October.

Meanwhile, the Green party has been rising in the polls following its electoral wins, most recently sending the second candidate in history to the House of Commons as well as becoming the official opposition in P.E.I.

As the federal election nears, political scientists are watching the centre and left closely as the Green party may be a big threat to both Liberals and the NDP if they bleed voter support — either born out of frustration or a desire for more decisive climate action.

The Greens now have an opportunity to position themselves as a viable option for those voters, especially in a riding set to be a battleground over the Liberal pledge to expand the pipeline.

Amita Kuttner is a 28-year-old astrophysicist and the Greens Burnaby-North Seymour candidate who describes herself as non-partisan.

“I think I’m that breath of fresh air. People are ready for something different,” she told Star Vancouver. “My feelings of being tired of the way politics is regularly being done is something people connect to.”

Kuttner, who is defending her thesis on black holes this week, said she met with several parties before committing to the Greens, but they were the only ones “willing to listen” to her ideas. The riding was a logical choice, having grown up in both Burnaby and North Vancouver, she said.

The scientist has already been named the party’s critic for science and innovation.

And Kuttner’s been personally touched by the impacts of a changing climate: Her mother was killed in a 2005 North Vancouver mudslide while she was away at boarding school in California.

“Because of what my family went through, I look at the pipeline issue as one of local safety… My focus would be getting local solutions ready so people are actually prepared,” she explained. “It isn’t about the intellectual concepts of climate for me.”

Last week, the Greens announced their climate goals — dubbed “Mission: Possible” — which laid out a 20-point ambitious plan, without a price tag. The vision keeps the Liberal government’s carbon-price plan, but the Greens say they would hike the levy each year beyond 2022.

Notably, the plan came in as the NDP and Liberals proposed duelling motions in the House to declare a climate emergency in the face of global warming.

The party is now calling for all-party co-operation to fight climate change.

Meanwhile, Kuttner said the Green party intends to exceed anything put forward by the Pact for a Green New Deal — a recent plan that launched to shift Canada’s entire economy to battle climate change, which is being endorsed by David Suzuki and 60 signatories including unions, youth leaders, Indigenous groups and environmental economists — and that includes strengthening worker and Indigenous rights.

But she won’t be running on environmental policy alone.

Kuttner’s primary policy interest is in the impact of emerging technology such as the impending economic disruption of automation, the ethics of artificial intelligence (AI) and ensuring Canadians’ data privacy. Along with the Greens policy on health care, Kuttner is proposing universal dental care and increased access to mental-health services.

Then there’s affordability, which Kuttner said is a key concern and requires a “wide-ranging, evidence-based” approach to find solutions.

“It’s not just housing. As a young person coming back to this area, it’s ridiculously expensive. I have a lot of friends with university degrees that can’t get meaningful work,” she said. “People are trying to claw their way out.”

Kuttner will be facing incumbent Liberal MP Terry Beech and the NDP’s veteran Svend Robinson, who is re-entering Canadian politics after a hiatus and served as an MP for 25 years. Candidates for both the Conservative Party and People’s Party of Canada have not yet been announced. Star Vancouver reached out to each party, but they were not immediately available for comment.

The riding was redistributed in 2012 and joined together North Vancouver and a part of Burnaby. Historically, North Vancouver elected right-wing MPs while the northern half of Burnaby was traditionally home to New Democrat MPs.

However, the NDP’s Robinson isn’t too worried about the potential “bleeding” of votes.

Following the Green win in Nanaimo-Ladysmith earlier this month, Robinson called the breakthrough a “wake-up” call for the NDP to take a more aggressive stance on the environment. He told Star Vancouver he’s received much encouragement from “Green” supporters in the riding, who welcome his history of activism on the environment and human rights.

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Indeed, Robinson received an endorsement from longtime environmental advocate Suzuki, who spoke at his nomination meeting and called on voters from all parties to support his candidacy.

Robinson welcomed Kuttner to the race.

“Amita brings a respected voice on the key issue of AI and I look forward to taking on this important issue as well in the next Parliament should I be elected,” Robinson said.

In the 2015 general election, the Liberals won about 36 per cent of the vote, the NDP got roughly 30 per cent and the Conservatives finished third with 28 per cent, according to Elections Canada.

For Kuttner, she’s bringing her lived experience to the campaign.

“In a sense, what my generation was promised growing up no longer exists. When it comes to affordability and climate, it’s extremely personal and means everything to me,” she said.

She hopes residents will consider voting for the person who will do the best job. And when it comes to climate, there is only one party with that focus, she added.

Kuttner said the party leader Elizabeth May has inspired her to work across party lines.

“Burnaby-North Seymour is the perfect place to elect somebody who is not stuck on a party line,” she said. “No one party line is going to serve our communities well.”

Read more:

Green victory suggests progressive vote is up for grabs

Green Party unveils 20-point climate change plan

Scheer says Trudeau is a hypocrite who is using climate change as distraction

With files from Alex Ballingall

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