The Green Party of Canada is in the midst of a convention that will include strategy discussions, policy debate, high profile speakers and perhaps most important, the election of a new leader.

But members are also looking at the 2006 National Convention as the Greens' coming-out party -- a major milestone as the party attempts to migrate from the fringe to the mainstream of Canadian politics.

By all accounts, they still have a long way to go. Though membership has increased dramatically in recent years, poll numbers seem to be on the rise, and party funding is way up, the Greens still have yet to elect a single MP.

Dermod Travis, the former communications director for the party and the organizer of this weekend's convention in Ottawa, said the event is all about showing Canadians that the Green Party is grown up and ready to be taken seriously.

"I think the big objective is to demonstrate to Canadians that the party is ready to have candidates elected -- that we are ready to be a real contender in every sense of the word," Travis told CTV.ca.

The coming convention will help make that point in several ways, Travis said. For one, he expected 400 party members to attend the event -- that's 300 more than attended the 2004 convention in Bragg Creek, Alberta, suggesting that more members are believing-in, and taking an active role in the party.

The location and the venue are also significant. In the past, conventions have typically been held at retreat-type centres at various locations across Canada, while this year's venue is the Ottawa Congress Centre, right in the heart of the nation's capital.

"It's happening in the capital region, which I think is an important message in itself," Travis said.

The convention also has a slate of high profile speakers, including Monica Frassoni, co-President of The Greens - European Free Alliance in the European Parliament, and Joe Trippi. As Howard Dean's national campaign manager during his 2004 run for the U.S. presidency, Trippi was credited with pioneering the use of online campaigning to develop a ground-swell of support for Dean's bid, an experience the Greens are likely to try to tap into.

Strategy discussions, policy workshops and planning for the party's future will also take up a good chunk of the conference, which runs from Aug. 24 to 27.

But the real centerpiece of the convention will be the election of the leader who will take the party into the next federal election.

Three leadership candidates have thrown their hats in the ring and will be delivering speeches -- in addition to last minute lobbying -- ahead of the final vote. While most party members have mailed in their ballots, the 400 who are attending and voting in person could easily sway the vote in favour of one candidate or another, Travis said.

Support seems to be firmly on the side of Elizabeth May, a lawyer and long-time executive director of the Sierra Club of Canada with connections to people like Bill Clinton and David Suzuki.

But she could be challenged by rising-star David Chernushenko, an Ottawa environmentalist who has authored several books on sustainable development and owns a consulting firm that helps businesses develop sustainability and energy efficiency. He pulled in more votes than any other Green candidate in the January election, though he still fell far short of a victory.

The dark horse, and arguably the long-shot contender in the race, is Jim Fannon, a St. Catharines, Ont. real estate agent and hemp business owner who has been involved with the Green Party since he joined in 1993. Fannon has run unsuccessfully in several elections at the municipal, provincial, and federal levels.

The conference will also include a tribute to Jim Harris, the current party leader who has decided not to run this time around after five years at the helm.

Harris told CTV.ca he is throwing his support equally behind May and Chernushenko, and plans to remain a party member and stay active in helping determine policy and strategy.

During an interview with CTV.ca Harris said he simply needs a break from the position that has run his life for the past five years and is stepping back in order to focus on his consulting business -- though he won't rule out running for a seat in Parliament in the next election.

There's little doubt the party has made great strides under Harris's leadership, and he isn't shy about rhyming off a long list of accomplishment during his tenure.

He listed the following as some of his proudest accomplishments:

• In 2004, the party received more votes than double what it had previously received in its entire history;
• The party ran candidates in every riding in two elections back to back;
• The party's annual budget has gone from $25,000 per year before he took office, to $2.1 million this year, resulting from new per-vote funding legislation.
• Membership has gone from 800 to 10,000

But perhaps more important, the Greens have helped bring issues that are important to Canadians, but are largely ignored by the Liberals and the Conservatives, into the public consciousness.

Climate change is a perfect example, Harris said.

"They haven't been talking about it, but they'll fall all over themselves now talking about it. What that shows is that the issues that are front and centre for Canadians are front and centre for the Green Party and always have been," he said.

This weekend's convention, Harris said, is a key milestone in the life of a party "that is relentless" in its journey to being regarded by Canadians as a legitimate contender.

"Greens from around the world will be there. We have a star studded event that is absolutely fantastic," he said.

Stephen Clarkson, a professor of political economy at the University of Toronto, agrees the convention is an important moment in the history of the party, but he suggests it's more of a stepping-stone than a milestone.

The party has a long way to go, Clarkson says, before it becomes a real contender.

"They've improved slowly. Compared to other countries they're very behind. I think of Germany where they did so well their leader was minister of foreign affairs," Clarkson says.

"They have done better thanks to the election spending legislation reforms so that every vote they get gives them more public subsidy, and they did well enough last time to be quite a bit richer than they were before. Still they haven't actually elected anyone, so they've talked of making a breakthrough in the last couple of elections, but it's been very, very slow."

Canada's electoral system is working against the party's ambitions, Clarkson said. While the Greens have support across Canada, so far there have been no regions with a clear concentration of Green voters who could actually elect an MP in one particular constituency.

That could change in the next election. Clarkson predicts May will be the far-and-away winner of the leadership race, and said she has the best chance of pulling together enough support to win the party's first seat.

May will bring credibility, competence and a long list of high-profile connections in the environmental field with her. But, Clarkson says, all of that won't matter unless the media begins taking the party, its leader and the issues they stand for, seriously.

"I guess it's up to you people in the media to take environmental catastrophes seriously," Clarkson told CTV.ca.

"You don't, and so we don't. We the public, what we know is what we read or what we hear or what we see...and it's clear the media has gotten exhausted with people talking about environmental crises."

And even if May does win a seat, the party will still be far from having a real voice in the House of Commons, and may not be allowed to participate in question period or national leaders' debates, Clarkson said. In order to overcome those obstacles the party will need to elect a number of MPs.

"If a breakthrough means becoming a recognized party in the House of Commons they need not just one milestone, they need a couple of milestones," Clarkson says. "They have a difficult time ahead of them."

But hope and a seemingly unending supply of optimism have been hallmarks of the Green Party of Canada since its inception, and despite the obvious challenges that lie ahead, Dermod Travis believes, without question, that this weekend's convention is a step towards victory.

"We're not only doing a convention to elect a new leader, we're also laying the ground work for the next election," Travis says.

"Based on the excitement I've seen by the party members going back and forth in emails, they're already talking about this being the party showcase for 2006."