He pointed out that major environmental organizations this week gave the NDP the best marks among parties for its platform.
"The things you want for your future -- like an environment that's sustainable -- are best achieved, and I underline that again, best achieved with the New Democratic Party of Canada, according to some of the country's largest environmental organizations," Mr. Layton said.
"[People] now know they can vote NDP with the certainty that our program is the best program, better even than the Green Party, on environmental issues."
He made this pitch during campaign stops on Vancouver Island. It's a hotbed of Green support that the NDP wants to tap to win tight races against the Conservatives and Liberals in as many as four or five local ridings.
The latest Ipsos-Reid poll of B.C. voters, released June 12, shows the Conservatives in the lead on Vancouver Island with about 30 per cent of the vote, followed by the NDP at 26 per cent, the Liberals at 22 per cent and the Green Party at 18 per cent. Parts of the island previously have been fertile ground for the federal New Democrats. Mr. Layton also went out of his way to point out that the Green Party is not a left-leaning party, as some might presume, but is headed by a former Progressive Conservative Party member, Jim Harris.
With only 11 days left on the campaign clock and a Conservative minority government in the forecast, Mr. Layton is moving aggressively to portray his party as a potential holder of the balance of power in a splintered Parliament.
His pitch to voters on Vancouver Island is that the New Democrats are the only eco-friendly party able to win enough seats to prevent Conservative Leader Stephen Harper from withdrawing from the Kyoto agreement on global warming and other environmental initiatives.
"I think this opens up the door for people concerned about the environment to consider the NDP, which has a chance to stop the very negative direction that the Conservatives would take," Mr. Layton said.
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Both the Sierra Club of Canada and Greenpeace Canada have issued reports that judge the New Democrats slightly greener than the Green Party in a comparison of election platforms. The Sierra Club gave the NDP an A-plus and the Green Party an A. Greenpeace gave the NDP all A's in its multipoint review. The Green Party received two A's and two B's.
Green Party spokesman David Kay said Greenpeace did not have full and complete information on his party's platform and is now reviewing its ratings.
He said Mr. Layton's comments show the NDP "feels threatened by the Green Party. Their monopoly on environmentalism has been compromised."
During his two-day campaign stop on the island, Mr. Layton has been approached by voters such as Mel McLachlan asking him why they should vote New Democrat instead of Green.
Mr. McLachlan, who lives in Courtenay, B.C. , said he's really torn between those two parties. He likes the Green Party because it is relatively new and "doesn't have as much baggage" as older parties. He also likes the idea that his vote will help determine how much money the Greens get in public financing.
But Mr. McLachlan also said he wants to stop Mr. Harper from taking power. "I am voting strategically this time because I don't want the Conservatives in."
