Jim Harris (politician)
Jim Harris (born ca. 1961) is a Canadian politician and political activist. He has led the Green Party of Canada since 2003, and was the party's leader for the 2004 federal election. Harris has run in municipal, provincial and federal elections as a Green.
Early life and Green activism
Harris was educated at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario in the 1980s. Initially a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, Harris was converted to green politics after reading Green Politics by Fritjof Capra and Charlene Spretnak, which highlighted the emergence of the German Greens. He worked as the National Press Officer of the British Green Party in 1987, and is a lifetime member of that party.
After traveling the world for four years after his graduation, Harris returned to Canada and became active in that country's green movement. He helped to organize the Green Party of Ontario's campaign in the 1990 provincial election, and was himself a candidate in the Toronto riding of St. Andrew—St. Patrick. The party fielded 40 candidates and received 33,000 votes, a significant increase from seven candidates and 3,000 votes in the previous election. Harris himself received 1,112 votes for a credible fourth-place finish.
In 1993, Harris and other Ontario Greens sought and won a change in the party's constitution, allowing for the election of a full-time leader. The party was nominally led by Katherine Mathewson in the 1990 election, but she had little influence over the campaign or the party's policies. Harris and others argued that electing a full-time leader would allow the Green Party to organize itself more professionally, and present a united message in future campaigns. Harris ran against Frank de Jong, who won the party leadership. In 2003, de Jong supported Harris in his bid to become federal leader.
Harris served as an organizer for the federal Green Party in Toronto, recruiting 17 candidates in the 1993 election. New legislation brought in just before the election by Mulroney's Conservative party required a party to run 50 candidate or suffer de-registration and have its assets seized. By running 17 candidates in the Toronto region (which then had roughly 22 ridings) the Toronto team presented over one-third of the national requirement.
He was elected as the first president of the Green Party of Ontario in 2001, and served in that role until he moved to the federal arena in 2003.
Author and speaker
Harris has written six books, one of which was a best-seller in Canada. He also delivers public speeches on change and leadership. Association Magazine ranked him as one of Canada's top speakers. Harris speaks at about 50 international conferences a year, and conducts strategic planning sessions with executive teams on leadership, change, CRM, eLearning, innovation and creating learning organizations.
His second book, The Learning Paradox, was nominated for the National Business Book Award in Canada and appeared on numerous bestseller lists. Books for Business ranked it as one of the top-10 business books in North America. Harris also co-authored The 100 Best Companies to Work for in Canada, part of a regular best-selling series of books that multiple authors have contributed to over the years. His most recent book, Blindsided!, has been published in over 80 countries.
National leader
Harris was elected leader of the Green Party of Canada on February 14, 2003, defeating Jason Crummey and John Grogan with over 81% of the votes cast. He replaced interim leader Chris Bradshaw, who led the party from 2001 to 2003.
The party conducted a high-profile campaign in the 2004 election under Harris's leadership, running candidates in all 308 ridings for the first time in its history. The party received 582,247 votes (4.3%), but failed to elect any candidates. Harris himself campaigned in his home riding of Toronto—Danforth, and placed fourth against New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton with 2,575 votes (5.4%) -- just 400 votes behind the Conservative candidate.
Harris's leadership of the Green Party has been controversial. He is generally regarded as an eco-capitalist, and has attempted to shift the party to the political right on a number of issues. In August 2004, he made the controversial decision of hiring as an advisor David Scrymgeour, a former aide to former Ontario Conservative Finance minister Jim Flaherty.
Following the 2004 election, Harris was challenged for the party leadership by Tom Manley, a prominent party figure in eastern Ontario. Manley argued that Harris was changing the party too quickly, and reached out to Green supporters who were dissatisfied with its apparent rightward shift. He also argued that Harris's support for big business is antithetical to the party's traditional focus on local production.[1] Harris won re-election, though by a narrower margin than before.
In June 2005, Richmond Hill city councillor Elio Di Iorio resigned from the GPC's national executive. His resignation letter accused Harris of poor leadership, and of mismanaging the party's finances. Di Iorio also claimed that Harris was "socially awkward, control-centric, and in my opinion, somewhat sociopathic".[2]
The 2004 GPC platform emphasized full cost accounting, triple bottom line and the green tax shift. The party's support for taxing resources rather than incomes is widely regarded as a right-wing initiative.
Harris has announced that in the next federal election, expected in 2006, he will contest the Toronto riding of Beaches—Woodbine currently held by Liberal MP Maria Minna.
Federal electoral record:
- Canadian federal election, 1993, St. Paul's, 491 votes, sixth of twelve candidates (winner: Barry Campbell, Liberal)
- Canadian federal election, 1997, Toronto Centre—Rosedale, 577 votes, fifth of nine candidates (winner: Bill Graham, Liberal)
- Canadian federal election, 2004, Toronto—Danforth, 2575 votes, fourth of six candidates (winner: Jack Layton, New Democratic Party)