May says she won’t lead Green party in next federal election

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OTTAWA — The Green Party of Canada will once again be looking for someone to replace Elizabeth May, after the party’s longtime leader said Tuesday she will not lead the Greens into the next election.

In an email to members, May said she intends to stay on as an MP and as party leader until a new leader is elected.

“We have big plans for the fall 2025 session of Parliament,” May said in her email. “My voice, as the sole Green MP in the House of Commons, is stronger as leader.”

May said she wants to grow the party’s parliamentary caucus before stepping down, while focusing on the climate crisis, affordability and justice and peace in conflict-ridden areas.

May also said a key responsibility of her leadership has always been fundraising and that she plans to “meet the challenge of closing the books on 2025 in a strong position.”

She said members will soon receive details about a leadership review and how to participate in a vote.

May said she plans to step down once the new leader, or co-leaders, are elected.

“Succession planning in any political party is tricky, but our federal council is determined to learn from past mistakes and make the transition to new leadership a positive experience that builds the party,” May said. “As a team, they will, by consensus, develop the strongest possible plan for the leadership transition and determine the optimal timing for a leadership race.”

May is the lone Green MP in the House of Commons after the party secured only one seat in the federal election.

May became leader of the Green party in 2006. She resigned in 2019, and Annamie Paul was elected as the party’s leader. But May stayed on as the parliamentary leader because Paul did not have a seat in the House of Commons. Paul resigned after the 2021 election, when she finished fourth in a Toronto riding.

May was re-elected as co-leader alongside Jonathan Pedneault in 2022. May became the sole leader again after Pedneault resigned in April after acknowledging the “disappointing” outcome for the party in the federal election.

In April, the Greens won just 1.3% of national support and May was the sole Green candidate to win. In 2021, the Greens earned almost 7% of the total votes cast, and elected three MPs.

The party endorsed 342 nominees to run in April’s campaign but ultimately fewer than 240 Green candidates were on the ballots.

The party said it had trouble confirming all of its nominees, in part due to the requirement that each nominee have 100 signatures from electors in their riding.

The federal commission running the two televised election debates subsequently withdrew Pedneault’s invitation to participate in those debates, citing the decision to reduce the number of Green candidates “for strategic reasons.”

In April, May said that decision undermined her party’s chances in the election.