It was founded in 1998 by environmental and social justice activists frustrated by the social democraticSaskatchewan New Democratic Party's move to the right under Roy Romanow. Unlike many Green Parties in Canada, the NGA is decidedly left wing, favouring, for example, progressive taxation, workers' rights and the elimination of poverty. NGA supporters believe that the Green Party of Canada and Green Party of Ontario are essentially eco-capitalist parties because they favour regressive consumption taxes and oppose taxes on incomes and corporations. The NGA also opposes privatization of Crown corporations. As a Green party, they support ecological agriculture, balanced ecological forestry and forest use, and promote a soft energy path. The New Green Alliance is committed to peace and non violence, and in contrast to the Green Party of Canada, has taken a strong stance against the U.S. war in Iraq.
The NGA has run in Saskatchewan elections but has been unable to win any seats. In the 2003 election, the NGA nominated 27 candidates who received only 2,504 votes (about 0.5% of the vote), compared to 189,000 for the NDP. This was a decline from the 1999 election, when the party received 5% of the vote in the 16 ridings where it ran candidates.
An emphasis on a green tax shift which favoured reducing income and corporate taxes while increasing taxes on polluters and energy consumers created questions as to whether the Green Party was still on the left of the political spectrum, or was taking a more eco-capitalist approach.
Alliance members joined the PC party to vote for the merger into the Conservative Party of Canada in late 2003, just before the 2004 election.
The GPC is a member of the Federation of Green Parties of the Americas and recognized by the Global Greens as representing Canadian Greens federally.
Green politics was being actively practised in New Zealand in the 1970s, even though the electoral climate was unfavourable.
In May 1990 the current Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand was formed from a merger of Values and the newGreen groups, and contested the 1990 general election six months later, winning 7% of the total vote although it was not able to stand candidates in all electorates.
The Green Co-Leaders honoured their pledges to remain members of the Alliance caucus until the House rose to begin campaigning in 1999, while Phillida Bunkle chose to leave the Greens and stay with the Alliance.
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