I had the pleasure to speak alongside salmon biologist Alexandra Morton to a packed house at the Fulford Hall on Salt Spring Island this past weekend. There, I was introduced to one of my childhood musical mainstays, Raffi, who was in the crowd – before the show was kicked off with a performance by BC music legends Bill Henderson (of the band Chilliwack) and veteran folk singer Valdi. Knowing some of the list of other musical greats who make the island their home (think Randy Bachman), I suggested they consider trademarking it as “Music Capital of Canada” – which wouldn’t be a stretch at all.

They could also just as legitimately lay claim to “Democratic Capital of Canada”. After all, it was these folks who led the country by a mile in voter turnout in the recent federal election – sending the first ever Green MP to Ottawa in the process.

Upon his sizeable loss to Elizabeth May (almost 11% in the final tally), veteran Saanich-Gulf Islands Conservative MP and former cabinet minister Gary Lunn lamented that he only lost because May had 2,000 volunteers working for her. How unfair of her! Clearly, she didn’t get the memo that she was supposed to wage her electoral battle with money alone and thereby lose to her well-funded Conservative opponent. Next thing you know, right after killing per-vote party subsidies, Stephen Harper will pass legislation declaring volunteerism illegal.

Enjoying my breakfast the following morning at the Harbour House Hotel – which derives much of its produce from an organic farm that’s part of the operation – I leafed through a copy of last week’s local paper, the Driftwood. On the cover was a picture that told the whole story. It was a shot from inside a pub on the island, where many of May’s supporters had gathered to watch the election results – taken at the moment her victory was declared. The crowd is staring up at a television monitor out of the shot – every one of them beaming with pure joy. 

This was the moment the pundits said was impossible – the moment they had worked so hard for – and there it was, unfolding before their very eyes.

It was refreshing to enter this strange land, somehow immune to the doldrums much of the rest of the country is mired in following the election of a Conservative majority government by just 24% of eligible voters. Not that these folks aren’t deeply concerned about the direction our country appears to be headed – it’s just that they know they got something right here. They are the silver lining in this whole situation. What interests me is how they did it and how we can learn from what they achieved – because contained in that success is the code for changing at least part of what’s wrong with our politics these days.

Granted, we can’t get to the root of the problem without electoral reform, and the prospect of that – short of a significant nationwide movement over the next four years – is slim indeed. But the other major democratic deficit we face is voter engagement and turnout. While that has a lot to do with voters’ disenchantment with the system itself, there’s more to it than that – proved by this particular result, as by the Orange Wave of the NDP.

So what is it that really worked here in the Saanich-Gulf Islands riding? Sure, it’s the 75% voter turnout – compared with the second place riding of Victoria with just 68% and a national average of 61%. But that didn’t just magically happen. It has to do with the army of volunteers the May campaign mobilized – 2,000 of them altogether. A full 700 came from Salt Spring, which represents a relatively small population share of the riding. A number of these folks who were at our show described to me how they would routinely take the ferry over to Vancouver Island and go door-knocking in the more populous neighbourhoods of Saanich – one community inspiring another in the riding to get on board. And it worked.

I also think you have to acknowledge the intelligence and sincere charisma and energy of May – a compelling leader who also worked her butt off for this richly deserved success. This last point speaks to the need for strong progressive candidates the public can believe in and rally around, which is far too seldom the case. And yet, these people are out there – we just need to get more of them running for office. 

What’s also interesting to me is that Saanich-Gulf Islands is hardly Vancouver-East; it’s a well-to-do riding that elected right wing Lunn (under Reform, Alliance, and Conservative banners) in five consecutive federal contests. But they somehow seem able to balance economic and environmental concerns here in a way few communities can. They run successful, sustainable local businesses and they get that it doesn’t have to be a choice between jobs and the environment – that both can complement each other if done in a thoughtful way. I learned it’s the only place in the province with a regional government system – the Islands Trust – with a mandate to “preserve and protect the area and its environment for the benefit of residents and the province.”  So they have some other lessons to teach us as well.

There may well be many unique characteristics to this place, but what happened here doesn’t have to be an anomaly – provided we can replicate that formula around the province and across the country. And we will need to do that in BC – potentially very soon – to supplant this Campbell/Clark government that is undoubtedly a far greater direct threat to the environment and public interest in our province than Harper and co.

Alexandra has been quoted in a number of papers recently as feeling pretty down after this recent election (who can blame her) – so a trip to Salt Spring was just what the doctor ordered. Even on a short visit, a little of that positive energy rubbed off on both of us.

Now we just need it to rub off on the whole country.