Green Party of Canada leadership elections

The Green Party of Canada holds a national leadership election every 4 years, as stipulated under the party's current constitution.

Ballots are always mailed out in advance to all Green Party of Canada "members in good standing" - allowing the option of voting by mail to all party members who do not wish to attend the convention in person.

The party uses an instant-runoff voting (IRV) ballot system for the election of its leader and councillors and a standard yes-or-no ballot for voting on constitutional amendments.

Leadership conventions

2000

• 2000 Ottawa (University of Ottawa), Joan Russow re-elected (resigned in January 2001, Chris Bradshaw elected by national council meeting in February 2001 as interim leader).

2002

• 2002 Montreal (Francophone institute for the blind), no member nominated for leader; Chris Bradshaw chosen to continue on an interim basis.

2003

• February 14, 2003, Jim Harris elected. ^[1]

Candidate	Votes
	#	%
Jim Harris	437	81.38
John Grogan	76	14.15
Jason Crummey	24	4.47
Spoiled Ballots	0	0.00
Total	537	100.0%

2004

• 2004 Calgary (Kiwanis camp in foothills), Jim Harris re-elected (first elected by mail ballot 6 months after the Montreal convention). ^[1]

Candidate	Votes
	#	%
Jim Harris	524	55.16
Tom Manley	352	37.05
John Grogan	74	7.79
Spoiled Ballots	0	0.00
Total	950	100.0%

2006

Main article: 2006 Green Party of Canada leadership election

Held August 24–27, 2006 in Ottawa, Ontario using a One Member One Vote system. On April 24, 2006, incumbent party leader Jim Harris announced he would not be running for re-election. ^[2] The race was won by Elizabeth May on August 26, 2006.

Candidate	Votes
	#	%
Elizabeth May	2,145	65.34
David Chernushenko	1,096	33.38
Jim Fannon	29	0.88
None of the above	13	0.40
Total	3,283	100.0%

2020

Main article: 2020 Green Party of Canada leadership election

Held October 3, 2020, in Ottawa, Ontario using a one member, one vote preferential ballot with a none of the above option. ^[3] Annamie Paul, an activist and lawyer from Toronto, won the election on the eighth round of voting. Her win was described as a win for "the more centrist camp". ^[4]

Results by round ^[5]

Candidate		1st round		2nd round		3rd round		4th round		5th round		6th round		7th round		8th round
Image	Name	Votes cast	%	Votes cast	%	Votes cast	%	Votes cast	%	Votes cast	%	Votes cast	%	Votes cast	%	Votes cast	%
	Annamie Paul	6,242	26.14%	6,242	26.16%	6,305	26.24%	6,478	27.23%	6,952	29.44%	7,614	32.52%	8,862	38.52%	12,090	54.53%
	Dimitri Lascaris	5,768	24.15%	5,773	24.20%	5,813	24.40%	6,586	27.69%	7,050	29.86%	7,551	32.25%	8,340	36.22%	10,081	45.47%
	Courtney Howard	3,285	13.76%	3,285	13.77%	3,348	14.05%	3,404	14.31%	3,762	15.93%	4,523	19.32%	5,824	25.29%	Eliminated
	Glen Murray	2,745	11.50%	2,746	11.51%	2,821	11.84%	2,846	11.96%	2,992	12.67%	3,725	15.91%	Eliminated
	David Merner	2,636	11.04%	2,636	11.05%	2,697	11.32%	2,727	11.46%	2,856	12.10%	Eliminated
	Amita Kuttner	1,468	6.15%	1,470	6.16%	1,486	6.24%	1,748	7.35%	Eliminated
	Meryam Haddad	1,345	5.63%	1,346	5.64%	1,358	5.70%	Eliminated
	Andrew West	352	1.47%	356	1.49%	Eliminated
	None Of The Above	36	0.15%	Eliminated
Total		23,877	100%	23,854	100%	23,828	100%	23,788	100%	23,612	100%	23,413	100%	23,026	100%	22,171	100%

2022

Main article: 2022 Green Party of Canada leadership election

Annamie Paul resigned on November 14, 2021, several weeks after the 2021 Canadian federal election. Held November 19, 2022, in Ottawa, Ontario using a one member, one vote preferential ballot with a none of the above option. Saanich—Gulf Islands MP and former Green Party leader Elizabeth May won the election, after campaigning as part of a joint ticket with Jonathan Pedneault; as co-leadership is not formally recognized in the party’s constitution, Pedneault will become Deputy Leader while the two seek to amend the party constitution. ^{[6] [7] [8]}

Candidate [9]	Round 1		Round 2		Round 3		Round 4		Round 5		Round 6
	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
Elizabeth May	3,736	46.53	3,746	47.24	3,830	48.6	3,953	50.58	4,008	51.41	4,666	60.17
Anna Keenan	2,034	25.33	2,048	25.83	2,158	27.38	2,303	29.47	2,819	36.16	3,089	39.83
Jonathan Pedneault	775	9.65	780	9.84	817	10.37	893	11.43	969	12.43	Eliminated
Chad Walcott	547	6.81	556	7.01	589	7.47	665	8.51	Eliminated
Simon Gnocchini-Messier	399	4.97	404	5.09	487	6.18	Eliminated
Sarah Gabrielle Baron	378	4.71	396	4.99	Eliminated
None of these options	161	2.00	Eliminated
Total		100.00		100.00		100.00		100.00		100.00		100.00

2025

On November 19, 2022, Elizabeth May was elected leader of the party once again, promising to convert the current leadership model into a co-leadership model, with Jonathan Pedneault being her co-leader. ^[10] May ran with Pedneault in the leadership race, and Pedneault served as the deputy leader of the party. ^[11] In February 2024, party members were to vote on motions which, if passed, would have amended the party's constitution to implement a co-leadership model. ^[12] However, Pedneault was unsuccessful in his attempt to win a seat in the House of Commons through a by-election and the proposed constitutional amendment was not voted upon due to disagreement within the party. ^[13] On July 9, 2024, Jonathan Pedneault resigned as deputy leader, citing personal reasons. ^{[14] [15]} He returned in January 2025 to serve as co-leader, pending election by party membership, which was approved on February 4, 2025, in a landslide. ^{[16] [17] [18] [19]} However, while the vote was approved by 89.4% of the 2,990 Green Party of Canada members who voted, 71% of the total 10,301 Green Party of Canada members who were eligible to cast a ballot did not vote. ^[20]

2025 Green Party of Canada co-leadership election

Candidate		Votes	%
Elizabeth May and Jonathan Pedneault		2,674	89.4
Abstention		316	10.6
Total votes		2,990	100.00

Leaders of the Green Party of Canada

• Trevor Hancock (1983–1984)
• Seymour Trieger (1984–1988)
• Kathryn Cholette (1988–1990)
• Chris Lea (1990–1996)
• Wendy Priesnitz (1996–1997)
• Harry Garfinkle (interim) (1997)
• Joan Russow (1997–2001)
• Chris Bradshaw (interim) (2001–2003)
• Jim Harris (2003–2006)
• Elizabeth May (2006–2019)
• Jo-Ann Roberts (interim) (2019–2020)
• Annamie Paul (2020–2021)
• Amita Kuttner (interim) (2021–2022)
• Elizabeth May (2022–present)
• Jonathan Pedneault (2025–present)

References

1. "Leadership Conventions". Parliament of Canada. Archived from the original on May 7, 2013. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
2. Harris to give up on Green leadership. The Globe and Mail , April 24, 2006.
3. "2020 GPC Leadership Contest Rules" (PDF). Green Party of Canada . July 31, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
4. Raj, Althia (October 3, 2020). "Annamie Paul Wins Race To Replace Elizabeth May As Green Party Leader". HuffPost. Archived from the original on August 3, 2021. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
5. "Green Leadership Vote 2020 / Vote pour la chefferie du Parti vert 2020". Youtube. October 3, 2020. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
6. "Elizabeth May wins Green Party of Canada leadership for second time – November 19, 2022" – via www.youtube.com.
7. "Elizabeth May returns to Green Party leadership with running mate Jonathan Pedneault". thestar.com. November 19, 2022.
8. "Elizabeth May elected Green leader again, to share burden with Jonathan Pedneault". Toronto Sun. November 19, 2022.
9. "Elizabeth May wins Green Party of Canada leadership for second time – November 19, 2022". YouTube .
10. "Elizabeth May elected Green Party leader again, plans to co-lead with Jonathan Pedneault". 19 November 2022.
11. CBC News (November 21, 2022). "Political insider breaks down Green Party of Canada co-leadership win, potential trouble ahead". CBC News . Retrieved January 15, 2024.
12. Campbell, Ian (November 20, 2023). "One year after leadership vote, Greens yet to amend constitution, but still moving towards co-leadership". The Hill Times . Retrieved January 15, 2024.
13. "Deputy leader stepping down from bid to co-lead federal Green Party after internal debate". Toronto Star . July 9, 2024. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
14. "Green Party deputy leader Jonathan Pedneault steps down for 'personal reasons'". CBC News . July 9, 2024. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
15. "Jonathan Pedneault resigns from Green Party, leaving Elizabeth May as sole leader". Toronto Star . July 9, 2024. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
16. The Canadian Press (January 27, 2025). "Pedneault plans return as Green Party co-leader after 6-month pause". CBC News . Retrieved February 14, 2025.
17. Lachance Nové, Fabrice (2025-02-04). "Historic Vote: Greens Choose Co-Leadership". Green Party of Canada. Retrieved 2025-02-14.
18. Benson, Stuart (February 11, 2025). "Greens can tap into global network as Canada finds itself with few friends amid U.S. threats, say co-leaders". The Hill Times . Retrieved February 14, 2025.
19. Thurton, David (February 18, 2025). "Green Party adopts green dot emoji 🟢 as new logo". CBC News . Retrieved February 18, 2025.
20. "Green Party Finally Publishes Voter Turnout—And It's Shockingly Low". Global Green News. 5 February 2025. Retrieved 21 February 2025.