Canada Green Party fails to make breakthrough in federal election

OTTAWA, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- Canada's Green Party did not make any breakthrough in the general election Tuesday after leader Elizabeth May failed in her first attempt to win a seat in the parliament.

The only Green parliament member also lost his bid to retain his seat, rendering the party to zero in the House of Commons. British Columbia MP Blair Wilson, who switched to the Greens this summer after getting elected as a Liberal in 2006, lost his seat to a Conservative rival.

Despite a spirited effort, May ultimately failed in her bid to unseat Defense Minister Peter MacKay in Central Nova, a riding that has been in the MacKay family for decades.

But the bright spot for the Greens was their surge in popular support as, with a majority of polls reporting results, they received more than 745,000 votes, or 7 percent of the vote. In the last election, the Greens won 664,000 votes, or 4.5 percent of the total.

A former lawyer who entered politics with the only focus on protecting the environment, May has faired well in the campaign and become the first Green Party leader to take part in the leaders' televised debates.

At a speech after the election, May said she intends to stay on as leader and will run again.

"My personal preference is to remain as leader and continue to be a voice for change because I think Canadians find my voice interesting and refreshing," she said.

According to Elections Canada, the Conservative Party won 144 seats out of a total of 308 seats of the House of Commons, the Liberals got 77, the Bloc Quebecois 48 and the NDP at 37. Two independents also were elected