Elizabeth May's Quebec heir apparent leaves office in the Green Party

Photo: Spencer Colby Archives The Canadian Press  Jonathan Pedneault has so far presented himself under the title of “deputy leader” of the Green Party.

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” , said Ms. May with emotion, when announcing the departure of her right-hand man on Tuesday.

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Jonathan Pedneault presented himself until now under the title of “ deputy leader” of the Green Party, the fifth party in the House of Commons. He ran jointly with Mrs May in the party's last leadership race in 2022.

The duo won the party leadership race, but their plan to share the leadership role first had to be accepted by members. This decision has not yet been made, and an important meeting which was to decide this question in the fall of 2023 has been postponed.

Jonathan Pedneault introduced himself as 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 thus leaves without ever having been elected to the Commons.

The Green Party has only two elected representatives out of the 338 seats in the House of Commons. Its leader, Elizabeth May, took over the reins of this party after the brief and chaotic stint of Annamie Paul at its head. Ms. May recently managed to push through Parliament a private member's bill that brings the concept of environmental racism into Canadian law.

Even though she took speaking during a press conference organized in Ottawa on Tuesday, Jonathan Pedneault did not want to elaborate on the reasons which pushed him to leave his position in the Green Party, whose ideals he remains faithful. The 34-year-old has a career in human rights organizations, with Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.