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my secret summer

Elizabeth May takes a break from last weekend's Green Party convention to demonstrate her swimmer's form.JENNIFER ROBERTS

When Green Party leader Elizabeth May wants to wash away the stress of federal politics, she heads for the nearest lake.

The former East Coaster now lives by the chilly waters of Sidney-by-the-Sea on Vancouver Island, where she is campaigning in the riding of Saanich-Gulf Islands to become her party's first elected member of Parliament. Despite a recent decline in membership and rumours of discord within the party, 85 per cent of voting members supported Ms. May's continued leadership at last weekend's Green Party convention in Toronto. In an interview before the convention, Ms. May talked about her love of water, her BlackBerry on the beach and the siren song of her home harbour.

Where did you swim as a youth in Nova Scotia? The Atlantic can be very cold.

Actually, the Cape Breton coast that runs along the Northumberland Strait is the same body of water that makes Prince Edward Island famous for its beaches. My favourite place to swim in my 20s, and to this day, is Margaree Harbour, where my family lives. It's a long, white, sandy beach about a mile long. It's almost unknown to people who aren't local. You really do have to be a polar bear swimmer to swim on the other side of the island, but our coastline has remarkably warm water.

They say the tides can overtake a man on a galloping horse. So, between that and the temperatures in some places, the sea is basically out to kill you.

That's talking about getting swept off the rocks at Peggy's Cove. The waves are surprising, how quickly they'll move. A friend of mine from Maine was watching the waves, and the next thing you know, a wave had swallowed him up. Fortunately, he lived to tell the tale.

What's the most exotic body of water you've dipped a toe into?

I've been swimming in the Beaufort Sea, in the Midnight Sun, with ice all around. I've swum in the Indian Ocean off the island of Lamu, which is part of Kenya. Yesterday I was swimming in Moon River, near Muskoka. If I'm near a body of water long enough, I'm likely to jump into it.

What takes priority during the summer months?

I'm working most of the time. I do a lot of barbecues and garden parties. We had a fabulous fundraiser … in Toronto with Margaret Atwood and Graeme Gibson - a lovely evening in a beautiful backyard garden. I go to the pride parades. I meet every voter I can. Community events and door-to-door campaigning take up pretty much every waking hour, except when I'm able to get away and go swimming.

Do you bring your BlackBerry to the beach?

Not if my daughter can stop me, but generally yes. I know where it works and where it doesn't, which is probably a bad sign.

You also like to ride the rails in the summertime.

I took the train here; it was great. I wish we had high-speed rail. We should have both on offer, really - the high-speed rail to get us quickly across the country and the long, pokey routes to enjoy the scenery. Ideally, I wouldn't fly at all. I much prefer the train and ferries.

There was a time when people would no sooner swim in the lake water around here than in a sewer. But most of Toronto's beaches are clean these days.

That's partly because of improved sewer systems and through the RAP [Remedial Action Plan]process, a lot of the most toxic Great Lakes sites are being cleaned up. But we haven't been funding the clean-up appropriately lately.

Canada wastes more water per capita than any other country except the U.S. What changes in federal policy would you suggest to help us preserve our fresh water?

The National Water Policy of 1987 called for a ban on bulk water exports. We still haven't put that into place federally. We also need an approach that recognizes that you can dramatically improve the efficiency with which you use water with proper pricing, just as with energy usage. We have very lax regulation for water equipment in Canada. It's still legal to sell toilets that are massively wasteful. They're the SUVs of toilets.

Is there a particular place where you hope to swim one day?

I'd love to see the Great Barrier Reef. The nightmare for someone who cares about climate change is knowing how many of these coral reefs we're losing and how quickly we're losing them. But flying to Australia will only hasten their demise by releasing more carbon into the air. I don't know that I'll ever get to see them.

I'm obliged to ask: Are you a skinny-dipping kind of gal?

As a federal party leader, I think I would be wise to decline to skinny-dip.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

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