Jo-Ann Roberts

Last updated

Jo-Ann Roberts
Jo-AnnRoberts.jpg
Roberts in 2018
Deputy Leader of the Green Party of Nova Scotia
In office
October 23, 2021 –April 2024

Jo-Ann Roberts (born September 8,1956[ citation needed ]) is a Canadian politician and former journalist who served as the interim leader of the Green Party of Canada from November 4, 2019, to October 3, 2020, having been appointed upon Elizabeth May stepping down from the party's leadership role. [1]

Contents

Roberts previously served as the party's deputy leader since March 2018 and was a broadcaster with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. [2] [3] She has been a federal Green Party candidate trice in the past, running in Victoria in 2015 and in Halifax in 2019 and 2021. She was appointed to be deputy leader of the party in 2018, serving alongside Daniel Green. [4]

In October 2021, Roberts was elected to be the deputy leader of the Green Party of Nova Scotia, with Anthony Edmonds being elected leader of the party. Together they implemented a shadow cabinet for the party and hope to elect the first Green MLA to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in the next election. [5] She stepped down as Deputy Leader of GPNS in April 2024.

Personal life

Roberts received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mount Allison University and a journalism degree from Carleton University. [6] She received a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Non-Fiction from University of Kings College. https://ukings.ca/area-of-study/master-of-fine-arts-in-creative-nonfiction/ She has written a book, Storm the Ballot Box; How to Start a Voting Revolution Before It's Too Late, which will be published by Nimbus Publishing in May 2025.

She is married to Ken Kelly, with whom she has four adult children. [7] She also has four grandchildren and cites the birth of her first grandchild as one of the forces which compelled her to move into politics in 2014. Roberts has claimed that she wanted to have an adequate answer if her granddaughter asked her what she had done to fight climate change. [8]

Political career

Roberts left her job at the CBC in 2014 to pursue a career in advocacy for public communication and the environment. She decided to run as a Green Party candidate in Victoria for the 2015 federal election campaign. [9] While she had been approached by other parties, she claimed that the Green Party platform was the one which most aligned with her beliefs. [10] She came second in 2015 with almost 24,000 votes, which is more votes than was received by 131 MPs who were elected. [11]

After the election, Roberts and her family moved back to her childhood hometown of Halifax. In 2018, she was appointed by Elizabeth May to serve as the deputy leader of the party, alongside Daniel Green. She ran as the Green Party candidate in Halifax in the 2019 federal election, finishing in third with 14% of the vote. [12]

On November 4, 2019, Elizabeth May announced that she would be stepping down as leader of the Green Party, effective immediately. She then named Roberts as the new interim leader. [13] Roberts served until the election of Annamie Paul in October 2020. [14]

Roberts ran in Halifax in the 2021 federal election, placing fourth.

Roberts serves as host and producer for the Green Party podcast, People, Politics, and Planet. [15]

Electoral record

2021 Canadian federal election : Halifax
PartyCandidateVotes%±%Expenditures
Liberal Andy Fillmore 21,90542.74+0.27$103,501.55
New Democratic Lisa Roberts 20,34739.70+9.66$90,503.01
Conservative Cameron Ells6,60112.88+1.30$2,924.56
Green Jo-Ann Roberts 1,1282.20–12.17$12,448.57
People's B. Alexander Hébert1,0692.09+0.95$3,500.64
Communist Katie Campbell1980.39–$0.00
Total valid votes/expense limit51,24899.38 $108,761.04
Total rejected ballots3220.62–0.02
Turnout51,57066.06–6.96
Registered voters78,065
Liberal hold Swing –4.70
Source: Elections Canada [16]
2019 Canadian federal election : Halifax
PartyCandidateVotes%±%Expenditures
Liberal Andy Fillmore 23,68142.48−9.25$77,935.01
New Democratic Christine Saulnier16,74730.04−6.09$92,096.82
Green Jo-Ann Roberts 8,01314.37+11.08$46,730.72
Conservative Bruce Holland 6,45611.58+2.97none listed
People's Duncan McGenn6331.14–none listed
Animal Protection Bill Wilson2220.40–$2,719.51
Total valid votes/expense limit55,75299.36 $102,876.75
Total rejected ballots3610.64+0.16
Turnout56,11373.02+0.40
Eligible voters76,843
Liberal hold Swing -1.58
Source: Elections Canada [17]
2015 Canadian federal election : Victoria
PartyCandidateVotes%±%Expenditures
New Democratic Murray Rankin 30,39742.28-8.50$222,151.95
Green Jo-Ann Roberts 23,66632.92+21.31$147,733.88
Liberal Cheryl Thomas [18] 8,48911.81-2.18$36,199.72
Conservative John Rizzuti8,48011.79-11.83$72,891.79
Libertarian Art Lowe5390.75+0.26$900.00
Animal Alliance Jordan Reichert2000.28–$10,110.17
Independent Saul Andersen1240.17––
Total valid votes/expense limit71,895100.00 $234,268.29
Total rejected ballots2410.33
Turnout72,13677.92
Eligible voters92,574
New Democratic hold Swing -14.90
Source: Elections Canada [19] [20]

Related Research Articles

The Green Party of British Columbia, or simply the BC Greens, is a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. It was founded in 1983 and is based in Victoria. The party won its first seat in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2013 provincial election.

The Green Party of Canada is a federal political party in Canada, founded in 1983 with a focus on green politics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexa McDonough</span> Canadian politician (1944–2022)

Alexa Ann McDonough was a Canadian politician who became the first woman to lead a major, recognized political party in Nova Scotia when she was elected the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party's (NSNDP) leader in 1980.

The New Brunswick New Democratic Party is a social democratic political party in New Brunswick, Canada. It is the provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth May</span> Canadian politician (born 1954)

Elizabeth Evans May is an American-born Canadian politician, environmentalist, author, activist, and lawyer who is serving as the leader of the Green Party of Canada since 2022, and previously served as the leader from 2006 to 2019. She has been the member of Parliament (MP) for Saanich—Gulf Islands since 2011. May is the longest serving female leader of a Canadian federal party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green Party of Nova Scotia</span> Political party in Nova Scotia, Canada

The Green Party of Nova Scotia is a green political party in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It received official party status in the province in April 2006. The party has not won any seats in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly.

The Green Party of Prince Edward Island is a registered provincial political party and one of the three major parties in Prince Edward Island, Canada. The party was founded by Sharon Labchuk, a political organizer for the federal Green Party of Canada. It is a party in the international green political tradition, espousing environmentalism, grassroots democracy, and social justice.

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

The Green Party of Canada was founded at a conference held at Carleton University in Ottawa in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul MacEwan</span> Canadian politician

Paul MacEwan was a politician from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. His 33 years in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly made him the longest continuous serving Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in Nova Scotia history. He was a contentious politician, who seemed to court controversy. So much so, he was kicked out of the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party (NDP) while he was a sitting member of the assembly in 1980 and caused them to lose official party status without him. He formed his own political party, the Cape Breton Labour Party, to contest the 1984 provincial election. He served one-term as its leader, before the party disintegrated because of financial issues. He eventually joined the Liberal Party of Nova Scotia, and became a Liberal member of the legislature. In 1993, he became the Speaker of the House of Assembly. His term as the speaker was marked with many controversies around bias and partisanship. His final years in the legislature saw him take prominent roles as Party Whip for the Liberals. After several health issues, he decided to not run for office again in 2003. He retired and lived another 14 years before finally succumbing to health issues in 2017, at age 74 in Sydney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Nova Scotia general election</span> Canadian provincial election

The 2021 Nova Scotia general election was held on August 17, 2021, to elect members to the 64th General Assembly of Nova Scotia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Green (politician)</span> Canadian politician

Daniel Green is a Canadian politician, environmentalist and scientific communicator. Since 2000, he has been a consultant for Sierra Club of Canada, Société pour vaincre la pollution (SVP), Coalition Eau Secours, the Rivers Foundation, Nature Québec and Parks Canada.

The Green Party of Canada held a leadership election between September 26 and October 3, 2020. The election was held to replace Elizabeth May, who resigned on November 4, 2019, after leading the party for more than a decade and achieving a record three seats in Parliament in the 2019 federal election. Eight candidates ran to replace her. While these candidates offered different visions for the future of the party and made various policy proposals, they all agreed that climate change is a serious issue, opposed the construction of new pipelines, supported a guaranteed livable income, and supported adopting some form of proportional representation in federal elections.

The Green Party of Canada held a leadership election from November 12 to November 19, 2022. It elected a new leader to replace Annamie Paul, who had resigned following the 2021 Canadian federal election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Green Party of British Columbia leadership election</span> Green Party of British Columbia leadership election

The Green Party of British Columbia held an election between September 5 and 13, 2020, to elect a leader to replace Andrew Weaver, who resigned on January 6, 2020, due to a personal health issue. Adam Olsen was made interim leader shortly after Weaver's resignation. Party members cast votes online and by telephone, using ranked ballots. Members and supporters 16 years of age and older were eligible to vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annamie Paul</span> Activist, lawyer, and former Green Party of Canada leader

Annamie Paul is a Canadian activist, lawyer, and former politician who served as the leader of the Green Party of Canada from 2020 to 2021. She was the first Black Canadian and first Jewish woman to be elected leader of a federal party in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amita Kuttner</span> Canadian astrophysicist and politician (born 1990)

Amita Kuttner is a Canadian astrophysicist and politician who served as the interim leader of the Green Party of Canada from November 24, 2021, to November 19, 2022. Kuttner first ran for office in the 2019 federal election, seeking a House of Commons seat as a Green candidate, followed by a run for Green Party leadership in 2020 following the election. They are the first transgender person and the first person of East Asian descent to lead a federal party in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2025 Canadian federal election</span> Next general election in Canada

The 2025 Canadian federal election will take place on or before October 20, 2025, to elect members of the House of Commons to the 45th Canadian Parliament. The date of the vote is determined by the fixed-date provisions of the Canada Elections Act, which requires federal elections to be held on the third Monday in October in the fourth calendar year after the polling day of the previous election, though a current government bill proposes to postpone the date to October 27, 2025, to avoid conflicting with Diwali. In addition to the statutory fixed election date provisions, Canada has a constitutional requirement specified in both section 50 of the Constitution Act, 1867 and section 4 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that elections for the House of Commons must be called no more than five years after the writs for the preceding election are returned.

The 2021 Canadian federal election was held on September 20, 2021, to elect members of the House of Commons to the 44th Canadian Parliament. The Liberal Party of Canada was returned once more with a minority of the seats, and the composition of the House saw very little change.

The 2022 Nova Scotia New Democratic Party leadership election took place on June 25, 2022 to elect a leader to replace Gary Burrill, who announced his intention to resign on November 9, 2021 after leading the party since 2016 and following the party's defeat in the 2021 Nova Scotia general election.

References

  1. ↑ Aiello, Rachel (November 4, 2019). "Elizabeth May steps down as Green Party leader". CTV News. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  2. ↑ "Elizabeth May steps down as leader of Green Party". Global News. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  3. ↑ Smith, Emma (November 10, 2019). "Green Party's new interim leader focused on prepping for the next election". CBC News. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  4. ↑ "Jo-Ann Roberts". Green Party of Canada. Archived from the original on May 7, 2019. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  5. ↑ Grant, Taryn (October 23, 2021). "Anthony Edmonds elected leader of N.S. Green Party". CBC Nova Scotia. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Mount Allison University | Record | Meet the 2019 Alumni Award Winners". www.mta.ca. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  7. ↑ Knox, Jack (November 8, 2017). "Jack Knox: Why a prominent Victoria couple is leaving for Halifax". Times Colonist. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  8. ↑ "What you need to know about Jo-Ann Roberts, the Green Party's interim leader | CTV News". www.ctvnews.ca. November 4, 2019. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Former CBC Host Jo-Ann Roberts Seeks Federal Green Party Nom. in Victoria". Puget Sound Radio. January 25, 2015. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  10. ↑ Pammett, Jon H.; Dornan, Christopher (June 11, 2016). The Canadian Federal Election of 2015. Dundurn. ISBN   978-1-4597-3335-0.
  11. ↑ "About Elizabeth". Elect Jo-Ann Roberts. Archived from the original on November 5, 2019. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  12. ↑ "May's out. Now what?". The Signal. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  13. ↑ Neatby, Andrea Gunn, Stu. "Canadian Green Leader Elizabeth May steps down, Halifax candidate Jo-Ann Roberts named interim leader | The Guardian". www.theguardian.pe.ca. Retrieved November 14, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ↑ Raj, Althia (October 3, 2020). "Annamie Paul Wins Race To Replace Elizabeth May As Green Party Leader". HuffPost. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  15. ↑ "People, Politics and Planet Podcast". Green Party of Canada. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  16. ↑ "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved December 24, 2024.
  17. ↑ "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved December 24, 2024.
  18. ↑ "Liberal candidate Cheryl Thomas resigns over Facebook comments". CBC News . CBC News. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  19. ↑ Canada, Elections. "Voter Information Service - Find your electoral district". www.elections.ca.
  20. ↑ Canada, Elections. "Final Candidates Election Expenses Limits". www.elections.ca.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.