The Quebecer with whom Elizabeth May has teamed up for two years to lead the Green Party of Canada, Jonathan Pedneault, announced Tuesday that he is throwing in the towel, citing personal reasons.
“It’s very sad because he was my best choice, a dream as co-leader […] “It’s difficult because I can’t imagine anyone better,” M said emotionally.me May, when announcing the departure of her right-hand man on Tuesday.
Jonathan Pedneault had previously run as deputy leader of the Green Party, the fifth party in the House of Commons. He had presented a joint candidacy with Ms.me May in that party’s last leadership race, in 2022.
The duo won the party leadership race, but their plan to share the leadership role had to first be approved by the membership. That decision has not yet been made, and a major meeting that was supposed to decide the issue in the fall of 2023 has been postponed.
Jonathan Pedneault ran as a Green candidate in a by-election in the Montreal riding of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce–Westmount. He won 13.45% of the vote, well behind Liberal candidate Anna Gainey. He leaves without ever having been elected to the Commons.
The Green Party has only two elected members in the 338-seat House of Commons. Its leader, Elizabeth May, took over the reins of the party after Annamie Paul’s brief and chaotic stint at its helm. Mme May recently successfully pushed through Parliament a private member’s bill that brings the concept of environmental racism into Canadian law.
Although he spoke at a news conference in Ottawa on Tuesday, Jonathan Pedneault would not elaborate on his reasons for leaving his position with the Green Party, whose ideals he remains faithful to. The 34-year-old has had a career in human rights organizations, with Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.