Green Party Of Canada Elizabeth May Enters Leadership Race

May, who resigned as Greens leader in 2019, is running on a joint ticket with Jonathan Pendno, a crisis expert who has investigated abuses in war zones including Afghanistan. Kicking off their campaign Wednesday in Sydney, BC, each pledged to appoint the other as deputy leader if declared the winner, and both promised to enshrine the co-constituency in the party’s constitution. May, one of two Green MPs sitting in the House of Commons, said the party “is in disarray and I bear some responsibility for that”. “I have made mistakes and I apologize for them. The last two years have been tough for all of us,” he said. Only two MPs representing the party won in the last federal election – May in Vancouver Island and Mike Morris in Kitchener, Ont. – after a campaign plagued by infighting and snipers against Annamie Paul, May’s successor as leader. Paul resigned after the election, saying the experience was one of the worst of her life. Amita Kuttner, an astrophysicist from Vancouver, stepped into the role as interim leader tasked with “healing” the party. They said the party still had work to do to “bring itself together internally” and should support its MPs and its next leader. “To prove that we are a serious party ready to govern, we need to come together internally and align with our own values,” they said. “This requires good governance, functioning businesses and the full support of the leader and MPs to do their jobs.” Pedno said he would take on the role of growing the party through fundraising and membership drives and said he would not “look back”. “The leadership race will be an attempt to show that the color green is a positive color,” he said. He said he does not feel overshadowed by May, an established figure in Canadian politics, nor does he “feel like a junior partner at all.” “We learn from each other,” he said in a joint interview with May. The Saanich-Gulf Islands MP said she was persuaded to run for the leadership in April when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a report saying it was a “now or never” moment to avert climate catastrophe. She said being party leader, rather than just an MP, would give her voice more resonance when talking about the urgency of cutting emissions and other environmental issues. May said the time was right for the Greens to grow as a parliamentary force. He said he hoped “other lawmakers with concerns” would consider crossing the floor to join them. Her remarks will be interpreted as a thinly veiled invitation to Jenica Atwin, the first Green MP elected outside of BC, to rejoin the Green Party. Atwin, who represents Fredericton, NB, crossed the floor to the Liberals last year and has been critical of Paul’s leadership. May said the Greens were also a natural choice for NDP voters disillusioned by Jagmeet Singh’s confidence and supply pact with Trudeau. The NDP pledged to support the Liberal minority government on key votes such as federal budgets through 2025 in exchange for action on policies including dental care. May said the NDP-Liberal pact is an “electoral opportunity for us.” He said he took the co-cohort idea from other Green parties around the world, including in Europe. The model would show that for the Greens, the party leader is not a “boss” or a “dictator”, he said, and “the highest authority is our grassroots members”. Community organizers Anna Keenan and Chad Walcott also joined the race on a joint ticket, saying people feel cynical about Canadian politics. In their launch video, they said the time is right for a new era in Canadian politics. “Can we not imagine a world beyond capitalism? We think we can,” Walcott said. Sarah Gabrielle Baron, who ran as an Independent against former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole in last year’s election, and Simon Gnocchini-Messier, a federal civil servant who ran for the Greens in Hull-Aylmer, Que. both operate on individual platforms. Baron said that “fear-based thinking is a spiral that can lead the human family to some pretty dark places.” “The Greens don’t think like that. The Greens bring joy to everything we do,” he said, adding that as leader he would stand against nuclear devices in all forms. Gnocchini-Messier said it was time for the Greens to “return to our roots”. Green Party members will use a ranked ballot system to choose the new leader in two rounds of voting in October and November. This report by The Canadian Press was first published on August 31, 2022.

title: “Green Party Of Canada Elizabeth May Enters Leadership Race Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-24” author: “Lynn Pires”

May, who resigned as Greens leader in 2019, is running on a joint ticket with Jonathan Pendno, a crisis expert who has investigated abuses in war zones including Afghanistan. Kicking off their campaign Wednesday in Sydney, BC, each pledged to appoint the other as deputy leader if declared the winner, and both promised to enshrine the co-constituency in the party’s constitution. May, one of two Green MPs sitting in the House of Commons, said the party “is in disarray and I bear some responsibility for that”. “I have made mistakes and I apologize for them. The last two years have been tough for all of us,” he said. Only two MPs representing the party won in the last federal election – May in Vancouver Island and Mike Morris in Kitchener, Ont. – after a campaign plagued by infighting and snipers against Annamie Paul, May’s successor as leader. Paul resigned after the election, saying the experience was one of the worst of her life. Amita Kuttner, an astrophysicist from Vancouver, stepped into the role as interim leader tasked with “healing” the party. They said the party still had work to do to “bring itself together internally” and should support its MPs and its next leader. “To prove that we are a serious party ready to govern, we need to come together internally and align with our own values,” they said. “This requires good governance, functioning businesses and the full support of the leader and MPs to do their jobs.” Pedno said he would take on the role of growing the party through fundraising and membership drives and said he would not “look back”. “The leadership race will be an attempt to show that the color green is a positive color,” he said. He said he does not feel overshadowed by May, an established figure in Canadian politics, nor does he “feel like a junior partner at all.” “We learn from each other,” he said in a joint interview with May. The Saanich-Gulf Islands MP said she was persuaded to run for the leadership in April when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a report saying it was a “now or never” moment to avert climate catastrophe. She said being party leader, rather than just an MP, would give her voice more resonance when talking about the urgency of cutting emissions and other environmental issues. May said the time was right for the Greens to grow as a parliamentary force. He said he hoped “other lawmakers with concerns” would consider crossing the floor to join them. Her remarks will be interpreted as a thinly veiled invitation to Jenica Atwin, the first Green MP elected outside of BC, to rejoin the Green Party. Atwin, who represents Fredericton, NB, crossed the floor to the Liberals last year and has been critical of Paul’s leadership. May said the Greens were also a natural choice for NDP voters disillusioned by Jagmeet Singh’s confidence and supply pact with Trudeau. The NDP pledged to support the Liberal minority government on key votes such as federal budgets through 2025 in exchange for action on policies including dental care. May said the NDP-Liberal pact is an “electoral opportunity for us.” He said he took the co-cohort idea from other Green parties around the world, including in Europe. The model would show that for the Greens, the party leader is not a “boss” or a “dictator”, he said, and “the highest authority is our grassroots members”. Community organizers Anna Keenan and Chad Walcott also joined the race on a joint ticket, saying people feel cynical about Canadian politics. In their launch video, they said the time is right for a new era in Canadian politics. “Can we not imagine a world beyond capitalism? We think we can,” Walcott said. Sarah Gabrielle Baron, who ran as an Independent against former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole in last year’s election, and Simon Gnocchini-Messier, a federal civil servant who ran for the Greens in Hull-Aylmer, Que. both operate on individual platforms. Baron said that “fear-based thinking is a spiral that can lead the human family to some pretty dark places.” “The Greens don’t think like that. The Greens bring joy to everything we do,” he said, adding that as leader he would stand against nuclear devices in all forms. Gnocchini-Messier said it was time for the Greens to “return to our roots”. Green Party members will use a ranked ballot system to choose the new leader in two rounds of voting in October and November. This report by The Canadian Press was first published on August 31, 2022.