As Mike Schreiner looks to the future following his election as Ontario’s first Green MPP, he touches on the level of effort needed to capitalize on the breakthrough in 2018.

His victory in environmentally-conscious Guelph, a former Liberal stronghold, drew heavily on resources from nearby ridings and enjoyed the right mix of circumstances.

The seat was left vacant by the retirement of veteran cabinet minister Liz Sandals as her party’s support collapsed province-wide amid an NDP surge and local concerns about Doug Ford as premier defying a Progressive Conservative sweep.

“We even had people who were running, candidates themselves, that instead of canvassing themselves came to Guelph, particularly on weekends,” says Schreiner, party leader since 2009, of his door-to-door army of supporters.

“They knew that winning our first seat was the top priority and it would then lead to more Green votes in the next election,” he adds, noting British Columbia now has three Green MPPs and Prince Edward Island two, with hopes high in New Brunswick’s fall election.

While Schreiner’s win was a huge morale boost for the party in his fourth attempt at a coveted spot in the legislature, the Greens did not make serious gains in the rest of the province, remaining a distant fourth or fifth in most ridings.

“We had two objectives: to elect our first Green MPP…and to increase our vote total across the province, which we did do — barely,” he acknowledges of the gain of 31,451 ballots to just under 264,000.

“It wasn’t a substantial increase. But we feel good.”

Wilfrid Laurier University political scientist Barry Kay says the Greens will likely need substantial wind at their backs to win another seat in four years, although holding a seat will increase the odds Schreiner is included in the televised leaders’ debate. Schreiner was not included in this election’s debates.

“What’s their opportunity for growth? I don’t want to say it’s nil but I think it’s pretty close to nil…Clearly they concentrated their resources in Guelph and this was a throw the ‘ins’ out kind of an election,” Kay adds from his office on campus in Waterloo.

“I don’t think one should think we’re moving to a four-party system in Ontario.”

Undeterred, Schreiner points to two ridings — traditionally safe Conservative seats — as his party’s best bets for growth.

They are Parry Sound-Muskoka and Dufferin-Caledon, where the Green vote totalled 20 per cent and 12.5 per cent in the June 7 election.

Standing in the way are popular incumbents Norm Miller (Parry Sound-Muskoka), now the parliamentary assistant to Ford in the intergovernmental affairs ministry, and Sylvia Jones (Dufferin-Caledon), the new minister of tourism, culture and sport.

“If people tire of the current government we might be in a position in the next election to break through,” Schreiner says. “Granted, Norm’s been there a long time and is the son of a former premier.”

In the meantime, Schreiner plans to make his voice heard in the legislature by asking questions of the government every week or two in the daily question period and holding news conferences like one last week where he urged Ford to come out with a program to fight climate change before axing the current cap-and-trade system.

Ford announced Tuesday that his newly elected Progressive Conservative government has revoked the regulation that adds 4.3 cents a litre to gas prices as part of Ontario’s cap-and-trade alliance with Quebec and California.

Schreiner’s hoping to punch above his weight by working with the PCs, New Democrats or Liberals in developing environmentally sustainable policies “on areas of mutual agreement” but said he will take tough stands when necessary with the government.

“It’s a balance of co-operation and confrontation.”

Kay, the political science professor, said this is Schreiner’s opportunity to help Ontarians better understand the Greens.

“Even as somebody who studies this more than the average person, I’m not sure that I fully understand what the Green party is all about beyond the environment,” he adds, describing the party’s election platform as “all over the place.”

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Pressed to paint a bigger picture of the Green vision for Ontario, Schreiner says it is “fiscally responsible” but would put more resources into illness prevention, provide more mental health services and increase funding for education and social assistance.

Asked what he would cut to pay for those initiatives, he responds with the defeated Liberal government’s so-called “fair hydro plan” that borrows billions to reduce electricity rates now — a plan the PC government is keeping in place.

Schreiner dubs it the “unfair hydro plan” because it “artificially lowers electricity prices.”