Meet the Candidate (Riding Mountain): Liz Clayton, Green Party

Green Party Candidate Liz Clayton Brings Rural Roots and a Passion for Preservation to the Campaign Trail

Though Liz Clayton moved frequently during her youth—her father was an Air Force pilot—she still considers Winnipeg home, having lived there on and off for about 30 years. Twenty years ago, she and her husband settled in Notre Dame de Lourdes, on the eastern edge of the Riding Mountain constituency, where they now live on a 32-acre property.

Living in rural Manitoba has given Clayton what she calls a “front-row seat” to the changes in the region’s wetlands and wilderness corridors.

“Now more than ever, we need passionate voices to stand up for our landmarks and what’s left of our natural prairie,” she says.

As the Green Party candidate, Clayton supports environmental policies like offering tax breaks to farmers who leave wildlands intact—an initiative that would require cooperation across all levels of government. She also advocates for ending incentives that encourage widespread land clearing, especially in areas that offer little value as farmland but high value for ecological preservation.

Clayton also speaks to a broad range of party priorities:

• LGBTQ2S+ rights and inclusion, emphasizing the importance of supporting people’s right to “be who they are.”

• Indigenous-led and community-based healthcare, including a stronger focus on preventative care.

• Economic independence, with a shift away from reliance on the U.S. economy and greater exploration of European economic models.

• Universal basic income, which she sees as a tool to reduce crime and help lift people out of poverty.

• And, she notes, fiscal responsibility: “We want to make sure our ideas aren’t just dreams—we want to budget for them.”

One of the most consistent messages Clayton says she hears from voters is frustration—particularly a sense that Manitobans and Prairie residents more broadly don’t have a strong enough voice at the federal level. She cites recent responses to tariffs as an example, noting that their impacts on agriculture are often overlooked.

That’s why proportional representation is a key plank of the Green Party platform. It would give smaller parties—and, by extension, more Canadians—a fairer voice in Parliament. As one of those smaller parties, the Greens have built a culture of collaboration and cooperation in the House, Clayton says.

Her final message to voters is simple:

“Give us a look and see what you think.”