Green Party of Canada leadership elections, more commonly known as leadership conventions, are the process by which the Green Party of Canada elects its leader.

Ballots are always mailed out in advance to all Green Party of Canada "members in good standing" - allowing the option of voting by mail to all party members who do not wish to attend the convention in person.

The party uses an instant-runoff voting (IRV) ballot system for the election of its leader and councillors and a standard yes-or-no ballot for voting on constitutional amendments.

Leadership conventions

2000 2000 Ottawa (University of Ottawa), Joan Russow re-elected (resigned in January 2001, Chris Bradshaw elected by national council meeting in February 2001 as interim leader).

2002 2002 Montreal (Francophone institute for the blind), no member nominated for leader; Chris Bradshaw chosen to continue on an interim basis.

2003 February 14, 2003, Jim Harris elected. CandidateVotes#%Jim Harris43781.38John Grogan7614.15Jason Crummey244.47Spoiled Ballots00.00Total537100.0%

2004 2004 Calgary (Kiwanis camp in foothills), Jim Harris re-elected (first elected by mail ballot 6 months after the Montreal convention). CandidateVotes#%Jim Harris52455.16Tom Manley35237.05John Grogan747.79Spoiled Ballots00.00Total950100.0%

2006

Held August 24–27, 2006 in Ottawa, Ontario using a One Member One Vote system. On April 24, 2006, incumbent party leader Jim Harris announced he would not be running for re-election.Harris to give up on Green leadership. The Globe and Mail, April 24, 2006. The race was won by Elizabeth May on August 26, 2006.

CandidateVotes#%Elizabeth May2,14565.34David Chernushenko1,09633.38Jim Fannon290.88None of the above130.40Total3,283100.0%

2020

Held October 3, 2020, in Ottawa, Ontario using a one member, one vote preferential ballot with a none of the above option. Annamie Paul, an activist and lawyer from Toronto, won the election on the eighth round of voting. Her win was described as a win for "the more centrist camp".

+ Results by round Candidate1st round2nd round3rd round4th round5th round6th round7th round8th roundImageNameVotes cast%Votes cast%Votes cast%Votes cast%Votes cast%Votes cast%Votes cast%Votes cast% Annamie Paul 6,242 26.14% 6,242 26.16% 6,305 26.24% 6,478 27.23% 6,952 29.44% 7,614 32.52% 8,862 38.52% 12,090 54.53% Dimitri Lascaris 5,768 24.15% 5,773 24.20% 5,81324.40% 6,58627.69% 7,05029.86% 7,55132.25% 8,34036.22% 10,081 45.47% Courtney Howard 3,285 13.76% 3,285 13.77% 3,348 14.05% 3,404 14.31% 3,762 15.93% 4,523 19.32% 5,824 25.29% Eliminated Glen Murray 2,745 11.50% 2,746 11.51% 2,821 11.84% 2,846 11.96% 2,992 12.67% 3,725 15.91% Eliminated David Merner 2,636 11.04% 2,636 11.05% 2,697 11.32% 2,727 11.46% 2,856 12.10% Eliminated Amita Kuttner 1,468 6.15% 1,470 6.16% 1,486 6.24% 1,748 7.35% Eliminated Meryam Haddad 1,345 5.63% 1,346 5.64% 1,358 5.70% Eliminated Andrew West 352 1.47% 356 1.49% Eliminated None Of The Above 36 0.15% Eliminated Total 23,877 100% 23,854 100% 23,828 100% 23,788 100% 23,612 100% 23,413 100% 23,026 100% 22,171 100%

2022

Annamie Paul resigned on November 14, 2021, several weeks after the 2021 Canadian federal election. Held November 19, 2022, in Ottawa, Ontario using a one member, one vote preferential ballot with a none of the above option. Saanich—Gulf Islands MP and former Green Party leader Elizabeth May won the election, after campaigning as part of a joint ticket with Jonathan Pedneault; as co-leadership is not formally recognized in the party’s constitution, Pedneault will become Deputy Leader while the two seek to amend the party constitution.

Candidate Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6 Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Elizabeth May3,73646.533,74647.243,83048.63,95350.584,00851.414,66660.17 Anna Keenan2,03425.332,04825.832,15827.382,30329.472,81936.163,08939.83 Jonathan Pedneault7759.657809.8481710.3789311.4396912.43Eliminated Chad Walcott5476.815567.015897.476658.51Eliminated Simon Gnocchini-Messier3994.974045.094876.18Eliminated Sarah Gabrielle Baron3784.713964.99Eliminated None of these options 1612.00Eliminated Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

2025

On February 4, 2025, Jonathan Pedneault's intention to serve as co-leader, pending election by party membership, which was approved in a landslide. However, while the vote was approved by 89.4% of the 2,990 Green Party of Canada members who voted, 71% of the total 10,301 Green Party of Canada members who were eligible to cast a ballot did not vote.

2026

On August 19, 2025, Elizabeth May announced her intention to resign as party leader. Former Green MP Mike Morrice will be acclaimed party leader on November 14.

Leaders of the Green Party of Canada

Trevor Hancock (1983–1984) Seymour Trieger (1984–1988) Kathryn Cholette (1988–1990) Chris Lea (1990–1996) Wendy Priesnitz (1996–1997) Harry Garfinkle (interim) (1997) Joan Russow (1997–2001) Chris Bradshaw (interim) (2001–2003) Jim Harris (2003–2006) Elizabeth May (2006–2019) Jo-Ann Roberts (interim) (2019–2020) Annamie Paul (2020–2021) Amita Kuttner (interim) (2021–2022) Elizabeth May (2022–present) Jonathan Pedneault, co-leader with May (2025) Mike Morrice (designate)

References