The man who ran alongside Green Party Leader Elizabeth May in the hopes of one day becoming the partyB次元官网网址檚 co-leader announced on Tuesday he is stepping away from his current role as her deputy.
Jonathan Pedneault appeared alongside an emotional May to deliver the news on Parliament Hill, saying only that he was stepping away for personal reasons.
May said the decision left her broken-hearted.
B次元官网网址淚 would be much, much happier doing this with Jonathan because that was our plan all along,B次元官网网址� she told reporters on Tuesday.
B次元官网网址淚 wouldnB次元官网网址檛 have ran for leadership if we hadnB次元官网网址檛 met.B次元官网网址�
PedneaultB次元官网网址檚 decision comes as party members have yet to approve a change to their constitution to allow for a model of co-leadership. The two ran with that intention during the partyB次元官网网址檚 November 2022 leadership vote.
May suggested that the party has been slower to make the change than she wouldB次元官网网址檝e liked. B次元官网网址淢y own timeline would have been more aggressive from the moment when the leadership race ended,B次元官网网址� she said.
Party members have discussed the matter in engagement sessions, she said, and have had the chance to put questions to international Green leaders who have worked with co-leadership models.
But while she lamented the fact that the membership is still conducting business via Zoom instead of at in-person conventions, May ultimately defended it as a grassroots process.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a party where the members are really in charge.B次元官网网址�
Pedneault said his decision to resign from his role has been in the works for weeks, but declined to detail any specifics outside of stating it was for personal reasons.
Asked directly whether the delay in changing the leadership model factored in, he said the slow pace is a result of members having important discussions about the future.
B次元官网网址淭his is a member-led party. ItB次元官网网址檚 normal that it takes time. It is not related to my departing today.B次元官网网址�
Pedneault spent 14 years working in crisis situations before deciding to run alongside May during the partyB次元官网网址檚 last leadership race.
His departure spells more uncertainty for the party, which is trying to rehabilitate its image after spending the run-up to the 2021 federal election plagued by internal fights over the leadership of former leader Annamie Paul.
The first Black woman to lead a federal party, Paul said complaints about her tenure were B次元官网网址渞acistB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址渟exist.B次元官网网址�
She resigned within months of the 2021 contest, when the Greens saw a drop in support to just 2.3 per cent of the popular vote.
May and Pedneault ran to replace Paul in an effort to rebuild trust in the party. May, a long-time MP, previously led the Greens from 2006 until 2019.
Pedneault does not hold a seat in the House of Commons, where OntarioB次元官网网址檚 Mike Morrice is the only Green MP other than May.
May confirmed Tuesday that a second deputy leader for the Greens, Angela Davidson, who is also known as Rainbow Eyes, is fighting a conviction stemming from protest activities in British Columbia.
The now-sole leader of the Greens also asserted Tuesday that she plans to run for re-election in her Vancouver Island riding when Canadians next go to the polls, which must happen no later than October 2025.
She said sheB次元官网网址檚 up for the challenge.
Last year, the 70-year-old suffered a stroke, which she said her husband called B次元官网网址渁 stroke of luck,B次元官网网址� because he had been without a family doctor for the past eight years and now finally has one after the ordeal.
May said she considers herself in good health and doesnB次元官网网址檛 try to push it, though she is planning to travel the country this fall to help Green candidates who are campaigning in provincial elections.
Her voice breaking with emotion, May underscored her commitment to pushing an agenda that prioritizes the fight against climate change.
B次元官网网址淓verybody my age should. Baby boomers have fB次元官网网址�-ked this planet and we canB次元官网网址檛 walk away and leave it for our kids to fix it,B次元官网网址� May said.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 sorry I just used the F word out loud, but I think kids understand what IB次元官网网址檓 saying. IB次元官网网址檓 a 70-year-old, angry, cranky version of Greta Thunberg and am I ready? You bet.B次元官网网址�
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