It's Too Late For That, Lizzie May...

Elizabeth May the Green Party's "lone voice in the wilderness"

For the first time in her life, Elizabeth May is a Member of Parliament.

For the first time in its history, the Green Party has an MP that they actually elected. (As opposed to a disgraced Liberal-turned-Green.)

All Elizabeth May had to do to make that happen was make her election the one and only priority of her party. All she had to do to accomplish that was largely abandon her party's candidates in the rest of the country. That she bastardized her party's constitution along the way will likely be dismissed by many Green Party supporters as a minor detail.

But now that May has won her way into Parliament -- and regardless of how poorly she handled her leadership responsibilities during the 2011 federal election, she did it fair and square -- she doesn't want to be a mere "lone voice int he wilderness".

Too late.

But interestingly enough, May says she wants to reach across party boundaries to other MPs. Notably, Conservative MPs.

“We have to approach Conservative MPs to join with us on specific issues,” May declared, noting she is mainly thinking of environmental issues. She's named her priorities as an oil tanker moritorium in BC, more national parks representing each of Canada's ecosystems, and fighting climate change.

Of these issues, May will likely find receptive allies in the Conservative caucus on the national parks issue. Not nearly so much on the other two, which are largely ideological issues.

While May's attitude toward inter-party cooperation is much improved -- she's finally realized she's better off trying to work with members of all the parties, as opposed to tirelessly raving against one -- she may be in for quite the shock.

By her own doing, May very much is a lone voice in Canada's Parliamentary wilderness.

And while Conservative MPs would do well to listen to anyone who cares to speak to them, May could find that her behaviour toward the Tories to date has left very few Conservatives with any reason, whatsoever, to trust her.

If she wanted to work with Conservatives within Parliament, she should have throught about that years ago, before she started practically branding them environmental criminals.