Green leader Elizabeth May said the party will do the best it ever has in the next election, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. “We are laser-focused on finding great candidates to stand in federal seats so we will run a convincing group of candidates coast-to-coast-to-coast, electable, electable, and we will elect Green Members of Parliament,” said May at a press scrum.“We are very focused on that.”The Greens have elected four MPs in the last 40 years. A reporter asked May how she thinks the Greens would fare. Regardless of when the next election happens, she said it “is going to surprise people with electing a lot more MPs than we have had in the past.”Since the Greens have said that in previous elections and not had a ton of success, the reporter asked her what she thinks is different now. “It’s about the lay of the land and the context in which we are now operating,” she said. With the Liberals and NDP, she said the disillusionment factor with them is huge. In BC, there are many people who have said they will never vote NDP again. To gain momentum, she acknowledged it has to win more seats at the federal and provincial levels across Canada. She and Green MP Mike Morrice (Kitchener Centre, ON) are the only two politicians affiliated with the party in the House of Commons. Former Green MP Paul Manly (Nanaimo-Ladysmith, BC) lost re-election by 2,573 votes in 2021. Liberal MP Jenica Atwin (Fredericton, NB) left the Green caucus to join her current party. May said it is fundamental to a democracy Canadians believe their votes make a difference and that politicians keep their promises. In terms of a progressive party, she asked if the field was crowded. “No, we stand here alone,” she said. “I don’t see anybody else.”Turmoil led to the Greens cycling through four leaders in three years. She resigned as Green leader in 2019 and was replaced by former interim leader Jo-Ann Roberts. Former Green leader Annamie Paul followed in 2020, but she quit within one year because of internal bickering. Paul called it “the worst period of my life.” “What I didn’t realize at the time is that I was breaking a glass ceiling that was going to fall on my head and leave a lot of shards of glass that I was going to have to crawl over throughout my time as leader,” said Paul.“I was spitting up blood, but I was determined to be there.”Former Green interim leader Amita Kuttner was appointed in 2021. “I am going to try to get out of it,” said Kuttner. May won the Green leadership race in 2022. READ MORE: May re-elected as Green leader, vows to introduce co-leadership“I’ve seen too much stuff in the media on how we’re a party divided and how we can’t get our act together,” she said. “I challenge anyone here to remember any other party that ever ran a leadership race where everybody built the other candidates up, supported each other, built a team.”
Green leader Elizabeth May said the party will do the best it ever has in the next election, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. “We are laser-focused on finding great candidates to stand in federal seats so we will run a convincing group of candidates coast-to-coast-to-coast, electable, electable, and we will elect Green Members of Parliament,” said May at a press scrum.“We are very focused on that.”The Greens have elected four MPs in the last 40 years. A reporter asked May how she thinks the Greens would fare. Regardless of when the next election happens, she said it “is going to surprise people with electing a lot more MPs than we have had in the past.”Since the Greens have said that in previous elections and not had a ton of success, the reporter asked her what she thinks is different now. “It’s about the lay of the land and the context in which we are now operating,” she said. With the Liberals and NDP, she said the disillusionment factor with them is huge. In BC, there are many people who have said they will never vote NDP again. To gain momentum, she acknowledged it has to win more seats at the federal and provincial levels across Canada. She and Green MP Mike Morrice (Kitchener Centre, ON) are the only two politicians affiliated with the party in the House of Commons. Former Green MP Paul Manly (Nanaimo-Ladysmith, BC) lost re-election by 2,573 votes in 2021. Liberal MP Jenica Atwin (Fredericton, NB) left the Green caucus to join her current party. May said it is fundamental to a democracy Canadians believe their votes make a difference and that politicians keep their promises. In terms of a progressive party, she asked if the field was crowded. “No, we stand here alone,” she said. “I don’t see anybody else.”Turmoil led to the Greens cycling through four leaders in three years. She resigned as Green leader in 2019 and was replaced by former interim leader Jo-Ann Roberts. Former Green leader Annamie Paul followed in 2020, but she quit within one year because of internal bickering. Paul called it “the worst period of my life.” “What I didn’t realize at the time is that I was breaking a glass ceiling that was going to fall on my head and leave a lot of shards of glass that I was going to have to crawl over throughout my time as leader,” said Paul.“I was spitting up blood, but I was determined to be there.”Former Green interim leader Amita Kuttner was appointed in 2021. “I am going to try to get out of it,” said Kuttner. May won the Green leadership race in 2022. READ MORE: May re-elected as Green leader, vows to introduce co-leadership“I’ve seen too much stuff in the media on how we’re a party divided and how we can’t get our act together,” she said. “I challenge anyone here to remember any other party that ever ran a leadership race where everybody built the other candidates up, supported each other, built a team.”
