‘Great candidates with strong teams’: Green party co-leaders expect to win more seats

After a tumultuous few years, Green Party co-leaders Elizabeth May and Jonathan Pedneault are heading into the 2025 federal election set on winning more seats across the country.

“There are a lot of places where we expect to win seats. And I say that knowing that it may sound overly confident, but I think it’s fair to share… that we expect to win a lot more seats,” May said at an event on Parliament Hill unveiling her party’s rebranded logo in February.

“And it’s not based on some sort of pie-in-the sky vision for the future, it’s based on great candidates with strong teams who are assembling across the country.”

Two seats

Heading into the campaign, the only two Greens with a spot in the House of Commons are May — who has represented Saanich-Gulf Islands, B.C. since 2011 — and Kitchener Centre, Ont. MP Mike Morrice, who picked up the seat in 2021.

Pedneault tried, unsuccessfully, to win a byelection in the Montreal riding of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount in 2023. He’s trying to get elected again, this time in the neighbouring constituency of Outremont, Que.

The Greens have expressed similar optimism in past campaigns but have been unable to make much improvement to their footprint in Parliament over the last few federal elections.

The party has been through a lot since 2015, both internally, and in trying to carve out space in the public conversation, as climate issues have largely slid to the backburner of many voters’ minds after the pandemic made the cost-of-living the central preoccupation for many.

There was also May’s 2019 resignation, Annamie Paul’s tumultuous tenure at the helm of the party between 2020 and 2021, as well as interim periods under the leadership of Jo-Ann Roberts and Amita Kuttner.

Elizabeth May’s return

And then came May’s 2022 return, alongside Pedneault.

Pedneault is a human rights investigator, activist, and documentary maker who spent 14 years working in conflict areas.

He also briefly left his top post with the party, an organization he’s previously described as “tiny,” but one that “for 40 years has been fighting the good fight.”

Pedneault, who is in his mid-thirties, took a step back from his leadership responsibilities in July citing “personal reasons,” before returning in January. It was then that he revealed he’d quit after receiving “difficult, life-altering” health news.

Pedneault told reporters upon his return that once his health improved, and U.S. President Donald Trump was re-elected, he felt he “couldn’t stand on the sidelines.”

Representing Greens at debates

A considerable comeback for the relative political rookie, the party announced in March that Pedneault would be the one representing the party in federal leaders’ debates, both in English and French.

“I am honoured to represent the Green Party in the leaders’ debates and to bring forward bold, honest solutions for Canadians,” Pedneault said in a press release unveiling the decision.

“We need leadership that prioritizes climate action, affordability, and integrity in governance. I look forward to making the case for a Canada that works for everyone, not just the wealthy and well-connected.”

May — who led the party for 13 years before stepping back in 2019 citing a desire for more time with her loved ones — was the party’s first elected member of Parliament. Aside from raising the issue and impact of climate change, May has used her voice in the House of Commons to implore her colleagues to improve civility in the Chamber.

The longtime environmental activist and past political adviser is running again, despite saying when she resigned the first time, that she had campaigned in her last election.

May has recently said she feels “lucky to be alive,” after a hemorrhagic stoke in 2023, and described herself as a “70-year-old angry, cranky version of Greta Thunberg,” who is ready to fight for future generations.

“I feel very, very committed, as I think everybody my age should,” May said. “Baby boomers have f*cked this planet, and we can’t walk away and leave it for our kids to fix it.”

The party says May “will actively support Green candidates across Canada” during the campaign.

Five questions with Green Party co-leaders Elizabeth May and Jonathan Pedneault

What has inspired you this year?

Elizabeth May: My baby granddaughter Lily, born Oct. 30. My reason for everything. My moral obligation to accomplish more for our children and grandchildren - and faster!

Jonathan Pedneault: Canada’s response to Trump’s insanity. Our willingness to stand our grounds, proclaim our difference loudly and boldly and live up to our values by showing greater solidarity towards one another.

What was the last book you’ve read?

EM: “Life After Doom: Wisdom and Courage for a World Falling Apart,” by Brian McLaren.

JP: “How Not to Be a Politician,” the memoirs of former British Conservative MP Rory Stewart and his shocking analysis of the state of parliamentary democracy. That and “In Memoriam” by Alice Winn, a devastating novel about the loves, hopes and trauma of young British servicemen during the First World War.

What is your drink of choice?

EM: Water. As I get older, I realize I need to always have my water nearby! (My own water bottle and tap water, of course!)

JP: Coffee, preferably while playing chess or listening to Quebec folk music jams at La Petite Marche on Monday nights. On special occasions, Akvavit to remind myself of Norway, or good B.C. wines from Osoyoos to taste the incredible smokiness the Conservative-Liberals brought to the Canadian wine industry with their climate-induced wildfires.

What is your favourite made-in-Canada product?

EM: Maple syrup! Amazing glaze with soy sauce on B.C. wild salmon.

JP: The Charter of Rights and Freedoms (minus that notwithstanding clause). That and Montreal bagels, of course.

Who do you call first with good news?

EM: I call my husband! John Kidder. We are coming up to our sixth anniversary!

JP: Good news? I was born in 1990. I text. Also, what good news?