Running for the Greens

St. Croix Green Party candidate Andrew Sutton hosted a campaign launch event in St. Stephen on March 7, 2020. Sutton will be running for the Green Party of New Brunswick in either the upcoming provincial by-election or general election, depending on whether the Higgs' government successfully passes the budget in the upcoming week.

New Brunswick Green Party leader David Coon attended the "Green with Andy" campaign launch event. "St. Croix has been without an MLA for quite some time now," said Coon to the audience at the beginning of the event. Coon was making reference to the fact at the riding has been left vacant by Premier Blaine Higgs who has yet to call a by-election since the death of Hon. Greg Thompson, the former MLA of St. Croix from the Progressive Conservative party who passed away in September of 2019. "Let's get behind Andrew and win this riding!" said Coon, before passing the the mic to newest candidate for New Brunswick's Green Party, Sutton.

"My generation and the generations that are coming up behind me are saying that justice, equality and climate change and the most important issues to them," said Sutton. Sutton went on to familiarize his audience with both his platform and his background.

"I grew up poor but happy in the Kingston peninsula," said Sutton. "As a child, you are not always aware of poverty. It didn't seem strange to me that there were holes in the floor of our trailer... When you're poor and you have strong parents and a good community around you, it doesn't seem strange when you come home and there are groceries sitting on your front step. I had a good childhood. I still find the sound of rain on a tin roof immensely calming."

Sutton explained how his background inspired his values and ultimately paved the way to his political platform. "What use is GDP growth when people struggle to pay their bills? What use is the unemployment rate when people aren't making a living wage? What good is growth if well-being is not considered to be the most important measure of success?" "New Brunswick is the poorest province... You don't become the poorest of anything without being exploited. I'm sick of being exploited. I'm sick of being told we can't afford to support rural ecomonies. New Brunswick is rural. I'm sick of being told subsidies to large companies are necessary," said Sutton.

"Does it sense to take from those who have the least to give while giving to those who have the most? We need to take back what was stolen from us. The best measure of success we have is how we treat those of us who have the least. With that measure of success, we are not the poorest province, but still, we can do better."