Elizabeth May

Elizabeth May
May in 2014
Leader of the Green Party of Canada
Assumed office
November 19, 2022
DeputyJonathan Pedneault
Preceded byAmita Kuttner (interim)
In office
August 26, 2006 – November 4, 2019
Deputy
Preceded byJim Harris
Succeeded byJo-Ann Roberts (interim)
Parliamentary Leader of the Green Party of Canada
In office
November 4, 2019 – November 19, 2022
Leader
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Member of Parliament
for Saanich—Gulf Islands
Assumed office
May 2, 2011
Preceded byGary Lunn
Personal details
Born
Elizabeth Evans May

(1954-06-09) June 9, 1954 (age 69)
Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
Political partyGreen
Spouse
John Kidder
(m. 2019)
Children1
Residence(s)Sidney, British Columbia, Canada
Alma materDalhousie University
Occupation
  • Politician
  • Lawyer
  • Writer

Elizabeth Evans May OC MP (born June 9, 1954) is a Canadian politician, environmentalist, author, activist, and lawyer who is serving as the leader of the Green Party of Canada since 2022, and previously served as the leader from 2006 to 2019. She has been the member of Parliament (MP) for Saanich—Gulf Islands since 2011. May is the longest serving female leader of a Canadian federal party.

Born in Hartford, Connecticut, May immigrated to Canada with her family as a teenager. She attended St. Francis Xavier University, graduated from Dalhousie University with a law degree in 1983, and later studied theology at Saint Paul University[1] for which she told the Anglican Journal in a 2013 interview that she had to withdraw from the program due to conflicting schedule demands.[1] Following her graduation from Dalhousie University, May worked as an environmental lawyer in Halifax before moving to Ottawa in 1985, joining the Public Interest Advocacy Centre as the associate general counsel. In 1986, she was named Senior Policy Advisor to Thomas McMillan, then-Environment Minister in the Progressive Conservative Mulroney government. As senior policy advisor, May was deeply involved in the negotiation of the Montreal Protocol, an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer. She resigned on principle from the position in 1988 over permits for construction of a dam granted without environmental assessments, which were later determined to be illegal by a federal court. May founded and served as the executive director of the Sierra Club Canada from 1989 to 2006.

In 2006, after building the Sierra Club into a nationally effective organization, May resigned to run for leadership of the Green Party of Canada, winning on the first ballot with 66% of the vote. On May 2, 2011, May became the first member of the Green Party of Canada to be elected as a Member of Parliament, defeating Conservative cabinet minister Gary Lunn with 46% of the vote in the Saanich–Gulf Islands riding.[a] In the 2019 federal election, she was re-elected with 54% of the vote. May resigned as Green Party leader on November 4, 2019, but remained as parliamentary leader in the house.[2] She was a candidate in the 2022 Green Party of Canada leadership election. Running on a joint ticket with Jonathan Pedneault,[3] she won the election on November 19, 2022.[4]

May has been an officer of the Order of Canada since 2005, and has been named by the United Nations as one of the leading women environmentalists worldwide.[5] She was named by fellow MPs as Parliamentarian of the Year 2012, Hardest Working MP 2013, Best Orator 2014, and Most Knowledgeable 2020. In 2010, Newsweek named her as one of the world's most influential women. May has written eight books; her memoir, Who We Are - Reflections of my Life and Canada was listed as a best-seller by The Globe and Mail.

  1. ^ a b Sison, Marites (August 2, 2013). "An activist, an Anglican, a political leader". Anglican Journal. Archived from the original on November 7, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  2. ^ "Elizabeth May steps down as leader of federal Green party, names Jo-Ann Roberts as successor". National Post. The Canadian Press. November 4, 2019. Archived from the original on November 5, 2019. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  3. ^ "Green Party leadership candidates launch their campaigns". CBC News. August 31, 2022. Archived from the original on June 19, 2023.
  4. ^ "Elizabeth May elected Green Party leader again, plans to co-lead with Jonathan Pedneault". November 19, 2022.
  5. ^ "Elizabeth May". global500.org. Retrieved September 13, 2019. [permanent dead link]


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