Greens Growing Strong with May at the Helm

OTTAWA--August 26th marks a successful and flourishing three years for Elizabeth May's leadership of the Green Party of Canada. May's leadership has seen the Party’s membership triple and the Greens’ vote increase by 50% in Canada, resulting in almost a million votes in the last election, proving that the Greens are the up and coming party to watch.  

May herself is extremely popular among Canadians, as evidenced by the huge outpouring of support for her participation in the Leader's debates during the last election.  A recent national poll shows that over 40 per cent of Canadians would like to see the Green Party Leader win a seat in the House of Commons, something that the Party is determined will happen.  The first real breakthrough for Greens was the London North Center campaign where May hit 26%, coming ahead of both the Conservative and NDP candidates.  In 2008, May's second place finish in Central Nova at 32% was a new high popular vote for any Green Party candidate in any first-past-the-post country.

"I am so pleased at how the Green Party is thriving," said May. "We have first rate candidates, excellent staff, and fantastic volunteers - all pulling together to realize the Green vision of a Canadian government that puts families and communities first, living within a sustainable economy and a healthy environment."

A definite highlight of May's leadership was her inclusion in the federal leader debates, a first for the Green Party.  Other highlights include her incredible whistle-stop tour across the country that saw crowds of supporters greeting the train at unlikely hours of the morning, media scrums after suffering through Question Period in her reserved seat up in the Diplomatic Gallery, working in a spirit of cooperation with other Greens in the party's remarkably democratic approach to policy development, and making both the worst and best dressed list at the Calgary Stampede.

"Most of all, what I've enjoyed is meeting Canadians from all walks of life, hearing what their issues are, helping where I can, and realizing how strong, resilient--and essentially green--our communities really are,” said May.

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Contact:
Michael Bernard
Communications Officer
Green Party of Canada
613-562-4916 ext. 244
(c) 613-614-4916
michael.bernard@greenparty.ca