Member Profile: Green Party of Nova Scotia

By Eleanor Willner-Fraser, NSEN Community Engagement Volunteer

The Green Party of Nova Scotia (GPNS) is a registered political party working to build a sustainable, healthy future for Nova Scotia and to elect Green MLAs to the provincial legislature. Founded in 2006, it has tens of thousands of supporters and an elected executive committee responsible for day-to-day operations and administration. The GPNS’s leader is Thomas Trappenberg, while its deputy leader is Jessica Alexander. The Party organizes itself regionally, with the province divided into eight regions. 

The GPNS shares no official links with the Green Party of Canada. Both parties do, however, base their work around the six Green Principles: Ecological Wisdom, Social Justice, Participatory Democracy, Nonviolence, Sustainability, and Respect for Diversity. The GPNS recognizes the relationship between the environment, the economy, and people’s well-being, employing the Nova Scotia Genuine Progress Index to measure and guide economic progress. It aims to get legal protections in place for people and the environment. The party’s website outlines its vision and policies around topics like education and agriculture.

The GPNS emphasizes bottom-up politics, engaging with supporters at the local level. Party members have the opportunity to attend regional division and executive meetings, propose policies, participate in local teams, nominate or run as Green candidates, and vote at the Annual General Meeting, held every April. The 2020 AGM was shifted from an in-person conference in Mahone Bay to being completely online. 

The GPNS is currently seeking local teams to work on policy and platform, campaign volunteers, an event planner, and regional representatives to the executive committee for three regions (Minas Basin, Shore to Shore, and Cape Breton). They are also looking to nominate a full slate of 55 candidates for the next provincial election. For more information or to sign up as a member or volunteer, visit the GPNS’s website. You may also reach out to gpns@greenpartyns.ca.