Elizabeth May, the longtime leader of the Green Party of Canada, announced her intention to step down earlier this week, a move she expects will rejuvenate the party.
“I think with experience and age comes potentially some wisdom, but I think it’s healthy in any organization to have renewal, to see new people get on board, to have new people get interested,” May told CityNews.
“A leadership race does that.”
May, who first assumed leadership in 2006, has orchestrated and overseen some landmark moments for the party — including her own 2011 election to the House of Commons.
“I defeated a sitting member of Stephen Harper’s cabinet to become the first elected Green in Canada,” she said.
“So there’s sort of a David-and-Goliath moment there, and David won.”
As she looks to pass the torch, May says her main priority is to avoid fumbling it like she says she did when she briefly stepped down in 2019 — a move she now calls “disastrous.”
“We just had the most successful election we’d ever had; we elected three Green members of parliament,” she said.
“I thought, ‘It’s a good, strong position we’re in, I’ll step down.’ But I did it immediately, I just stepped down and was no longer leader, and we had an interim leader.”
May says the party has been rebuilding ever since.
This time around, May hopes to remain leader until a race is held to ensure a smooth hand-off. She says that despite the challenges, it is an attractive job listing.
“In the history of our country, we’ve never had a time where a U.S. President, that we used to think of as an ally, has been so unhinged and a threat,” she said.
“So if you care about your country, this is a good time to step up. And if you’re like me and you’re a grandparent, and you’re looking at the climate crisis galloping, now’s a good time to step up.”
In the meantime, May says she plans to continue representing the Greens in Ottawa and trying to hold the Liberal government to account.
“I’ve got some things that are cooking along that will be very exciting.”
May is the lone Green MP in the House of Commons after the party only secured one seat in the federal election.
— With files from The Canadian Press.
