Animal Alliance Environment Voters Party of Canada

The Animal Alliance Environment Voters Party of Canada is a small registered political party in Canada. It was formed by two organizations, the Animal Alliance of Canada and Environment Voters. The latter had previously been organized as a subsidiary of the former. Elections Canada [http://www.elections.ca/content.asp?section=pol&document=index&dir=par&lang=e&textonly=false#AACEV lists the party’s official short name] as AAVE Party of Canada.

Ideology

The party’s program is centred on animal rights and environmentalism; it generally takes a more radical position on the latter than that taken by the Green Party of Canada, the party best known for organizing around that issue.

Both parent organizations have been particularly vocal in the past opposing the seal hunt in Newfoundland and Labrador, and AAVE is currently urging an international boycott of Canadian seafood. Other causes have included opposition to the use of animals in scientific research, fur farming and trapping, and bear hunting.

Influence of electoral law

The party was formed as a result of laws restricting political advocacy by “third parties” (i.e., organizations that are not registered by Elections Canada as political parties) during election campaigns. AAVE intends to use its status as a political party to circumvent that restriction by running a sole candidate, thus allowing it to promote its views during election periods. [ [http://www.environmentvoters.org/About_us.html AAVE: About Us] ]

Though the party ran a single candidate in the 2006 general election in order to entitle it to political-party status, its role in most ridings is to endorse a major-party candidate which it sees as promoting the organization’s views. In the 2006 general election, AAVE’s free-time political ads specifically endorsed the New Democratic Party, counter-balanced by the statement you “could” vote for AAVE leader Liz White in Toronto Centre. [ [http://www.environmentvoters.org/AAEV-2006-2min.wmv Political announcement (Windows Media video)] ]

Canadian electoral laws hinder abuse of this loophole by setting campaign spending limits for parties that are proportional to the number of voters in the electoral districts where the a party is running candidates. Because the Animal Alliance Environment Voters Party of Canada is running only one candidate, it will only be permitted to spend $66,715.37, compared to the $18,225,260.74 limits granted to the major national parties. [ [http://www.elections.ca/content.asp?section=med&document=jan0606b&dir=pre&lang=e&textonly=false Chief Electoral Officer of Canada Announces Election Expenses Limits for Registered Political Parties] ]

AAC and EV have in the past campaigned to elect candidates and parties with positions favourable to animal rights and the environment, respectively, and to oppose those with unfavourable positions. Since 1999, the groups claim to have participated in over 50 campaigns.

Candidates

In the 2008 general election, AAEVP fielded four candidates, all in Ontario:

# Marie Crawford in Toronto–Danforth
# Simon Luisi in Davenport
# Karen Levenson in Guelph
# Liz White in Toronto Centre

Election results

During the March 17, 2008 by-election, the party managed to improve its vote share, despite low voter turnout.

ee also

*List of animal welfare parties
*List of political parties in Canada

References

External links

* [http://www.animalalliance.ca/ Animal Alliance] , official website
* http://www.environmentvoters.org/home.html
* [http://www.nationalpost.com/story-printer.html?id=874377 Who Are You Calling Fringe?] (newspaper profile of AAEV leader Liz White)