Pierre Nantel, who has served as an NDP MP since 2011, will be running under the Green Party's banner in the upcoming election.
Nantel made the announcement alongside Green Party Leader Elizabeth May in his Longueuil Que. riding on Monday. He was booted from the NDP caucus on Friday amid reports that he was in talks with another party to join its ranks. In the days since, he has actively been tweeting about climate change and environmental issues.
Shortly after being booted from the NDP, he tweeted in French that his priorities remain the same: Quebec and the climate.
Speaking to reporters at his announcement, Nantel echoed his climate-based concerns.
"I sit here and I say something is wrong鈥ll the research is indicating this. We need to make a move, and the move is to say to everyone: if you choose the climate section, if you are on the climate side, then no matter if you're a Liberal, a Conservative鈥 sovereigntist, a CAQ, you have to vote Green this year," Nantel said.
He also said that one of his NDP colleagues accused him of not being a "team player."
"What do you define as team playing? Do you define team playing [as] presenting, all the time, alternative new solutions鈥specially to represent the distinct society of Quebec within a pan-Canadian party? If you bring that all the time, I would say that's team a lot of team work," Nantel said.
His new team, the Green Party, has had a banner year in both fundraising and polling, fueling speculation about a strong performance from the party in the fall election. The Greens have been nipping at NDP heels in multiple polls and smashed fundraising records. In the last three months of 2018, the Green Party raised a whopping $1.5 million for an annual intake of $3.1 million. The haul represents the party鈥檚 best ever non-election year haul and a historic fourth quarter intake.
