Sunday August 31, 2025 | VICTORIA, BC [Updated September 3, 2025]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Nominations are now open to run for positions on the Green Party Federal Council.
Nominations close on Friday September 12, 2025 at 12 noon (PT).
The campaign period will run September 22 through October 5, with voting to follow October 6 through 20.
There will be an online Town Hall.
Elizabeth May will step down:
Currently the party leader is Elizabeth May, who announced on August 19 that she will be stepping down as party leader once a new leader is chosen. She will remain the Member of Parliament for Saanich-Gulf Islands, a seat she has won five times (2011, 2015, 2019, 2021 and 2025).
“My voice, as the sole Green MP in the House of Commons, is stronger as leader. I intend to grow our parliamentary caucus before stepping down,” May said in an email to party members on August 19.
May has led the party through five federal elections, the first time in 2008. She stepped down as leader following the 2019 vote and the party selected Annamie Paul to lead the party in the following election.
Over the years, at most, the Green Party has had two MPs in the House of Commons. An environmental lawyer by career training, May has kept alive the vision of key Green planks that the environment be protected and that the electoral system be reformed.
She has a sterling reputation as a parliamentarian, recognized by her peers in the House of Commons.
Tough act to follow:
Elizabeth May is a remarkable leader who sparked a movement that has captured the imagination of Canadians and a few seats in Parliament along the way. Her unique combination of vision, political performance and detailed legislative action will be a tough act to follow.
By stepping back this time around (she tried once before in 2019) she is trying to leave room for new leadership for the party for the years ahead.
May is 71 and shows no signs of slowing down but she intends for her direction to be separate from that of leading the political party. She wants to focus on representing the needs of her Saanich-Gulf Island constituency and the work of furthering the idea of electoral reform for Canada.
Federal council structure:
The federal council chair is Vincent J. Carbonneau. Both vice-chair positions are currently vacant. There are rep positions for each province and territory (most of those are currently filled), plus two youth rep positions (both currently filled).
The Acting Executive Director (ED) has been Paul Manly (who ran in Nanaimo-Ladysmith in the 2025 election) but he is now returning to his local municipal and community focus in Nanaimo.
The new Interim Executive Director is Robin Marty (a former national campaign director), for the next six months until a permanent ED is hired.
===== RELATED:
- Elizabeth May on Donald Trump, digital services tax, dairy supply management (July 11, 2025)
- Elizabeth May calls for electoral reform before next federal election (May 28, 2025)
- Elizabeth May chooses party over parliament (May 25, 2025)
- Elizabeth May on solo Green journey back to Ottawa (May 23, 2025)
- NEWS SECTIONS: 45th PARLIAMENT OF CANADA | GREEN PARTY OF CANADA | FEDERAL ELECTION 2025