Every Ottawa-area Green candidate for the 2025 Ontario election placed fourth—and garnered a smaller percentage of the vote compared to 2022.
Green Party members in Ottawa are aware electoral success is an uphill battle. And that mountain got a little bit bigger after they watched the Ontario Election results pour in.
As a tiny, yet animated crowd donning every hue of green congregated in Gloucester’s Big Rig Kitchen and Brewery Thursday for election night, every Ottawa-area Green candidate placed fourth—and garnered a smaller percentage of the vote compared to 2022.
“The Greens lost support this election and I think our support went to the Liberals due to fear,” said Christian Proulx, the Green Party candidate for Ottawa-Vanier. “Fear of Trump and fear of Ford.”
But the mood was nonetheless upbeat at the event co-hosted by Proulx and fellow Ottawa Green candidates Michelle Petersen (Orléans), Nira Dookeran (Ottawa South), and Simon Beckett (Ottawa Centre).
“It’s a bigger reflection of the Green Party spirit. We’re a party that really promotes collaboration,” said Petersen, a registered psychotherapist who ran for a third time.
Despite these results, Petersen said she intends to continue advocating for her Ottawa community.
“There’s still something to be said about the influence I can have just having been a candidate and having stuck around in my community engagement.”
For attendees, the re-election of Green Party of Ontario leader Mike Schreiner and Kitchener Centre representative Aislinn Clancy were cause for emphatic celebration.
Just after 10 p.m., attendees erupted in applause as Schreiner delivered his election night speech over the TV.
Evening Update
“He’s always consistently inspiring and solid as a leader, which we need,” Dookeran said.
Dookeran added the most “heartbreaking” moment of the night was Matt Richter’s second-place finish in the Parry-Sound Muskoka riding. The Green candidate secured 41.7 per cent of the vote, falling 2,371 votes shy of PC candidate Graydon Smith.
Back in Ottawa, local candidates said a goal was to increase voter turnout.
“I would love to see people get more engaged in their civic duties,” Petersen said. “There’s so much political jadedness right now … But if you can find someone you respect, values that resonate with you, it allows us to humanize these roles.”
While the Orléans, Ottawa-Vanier and Glengarry-Prescott-Russell ridings saw a slight increase in voter turnout compared to 2022, the other eight ridings experienced a slight decrease.
Another goal for the Greens was to garner at least two per cent of votes across the province, in order to qualify for a quarterly allowance in funding from the government.
“The votes do matter, even if the Greens don’t win,” said Gillian Walker, a volunteer with the Ottawa Centre campaign. “Your vote shows up in those percentages.”
The Greens succeeded in that regard, garnering 4.83 per cent of votes across the province. “For a party like us, that’s a big deal,” Dookeran said.
Looking to the future, Beckett said he wants the Greens to be an alternative for any voters “really disenfranchised with the status quo.”
Proulx said he aims “to show people that there is hope for something different,” adding he believes Greens have comprehensive visions to address the housing, health care and affordability crises.
While no Green candidates were elected in the Ottawa area, all candidates indicated their grassroots efforts will persist.
“We know what we stand for: holding the government accountable and working with the other parties is what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna keep building our local capacity,” Dookeran said.
How Ottawa Greens performed in the 2025 Ontario Election
– Michelle Petersen received 2.48 per cent of the Orléans vote, down from 4.55 per cent in 2022
– Christian Proulx received 5.17 per cent of the Ottawa-Vanier vote, down from 7.81 per cent in 2022
– Simon Beckett received 2.66 per cent of the Ottawa Centre vote, down from 4.87 per cent (Shelby Bertrand) in 2022
– Nira Dookeran received 2.89 per cent of the Ottawa South vote, down from 4.65 per cent in 2022
– Sheilagh McLean received 1.9 per cent of the Nepean vote, down from 3.89 per cent (Kaitlyn Tremblay) in 2022
– Jennifer Purdy received 2.53 per cent of the Kanata-Carleton vote, down from 5.59 per cent (Pat Freel) in 2022
– Sophia Andrew-Joiner received 2.39 per cent of the Ottawa West-Nepean vote, down from 3.53 per cent (Steve Warren) in 2022
– Thaila Riden received 2.28 per cent of the Glengarry-Prescott-Russell vote, down from 3.76 per cent in 2022
– Mystic Plaunt received 1.82 per cent of the Carleton vote, down from 5.48 per cent (Cody Zulinski) in 2022
