On alternatives

It's still far from clear what exactly happened to the Greens' apparent attempt to nominate Marc-André Gadoury for the Repentigny by-election. But there's no room for doubt who Gadoury himself will support following the Greens' failure to process his nomination:

Le candidat pressenti pour le Parti vert dans l'élection partielle dans Repentigny, Marc-André Gadoury, va appuyer Réjean Bellemare du NPD.

Le Parti vert ne présente pas de candidat dans l'élection partielle dans Repentigny. Le parti, tout en ayant nommé un candidat, n'a pas déposé à temps le bulletin de candidature. M. Gadoury ne cache pas sa frustration envers l'organisation du Parti vert au Québec. Celui-ci affirme que, dans le contexte où il ne peut se présenter, il va voter pour le NPD.

« Le NPD est le parti le plus proche de mes préoccupations. Le NPD défend les valeurs environnementales que j'aurais aimé porter pendant cette élection partielle », a déclaré M. Gadoury.

For the NDP, the endorsement is surely an important one in showing that while there are differences between the two parties, their core values are similar enough that a would-be Green standard-bearer is comfortable publicly supporting the NDP's cause. And with Gadoury himself apparently disillusioned with the Greens over their failure to process his nomination, it seems entirely possible that others concerned about the Greens' current organization will put their votes and efforts behind the NDP in the by-election and beyond.

(For speculation as to just what happened with Gadoury's nomination in the first place, see this thread at Babble. While I'm not sure I buy the theory that May simply wanted to avoid having another Green candidate risking a poor showing to counter her presumptive gains in London North Centre, it definitely seems a bit sketchy that the Greens themselves and one of their blogging loyalists have purged all previous discussion about Gadoury.)