Annamie Paul Stepping Down as Leader of Federal Green Party

Annamie Paul is stepping down as leader of the Green Party of Canada.

Ms. Paul announced her resignation Monday during a news conference in Toronto, saying she would not try to keep her position, which would have been up for review in six months.

“I just don't have the heart for it,” she stated, citing internal party strife, notably with the party's federal council.

“When I was elected, put in this role, I was breaking a glass ceiling. What I didn’t realize at the time is I was breaking a glass ceiling that was going to fall on my head and leave a lot of shards of glass that I was going to have to crawl over throughout my time as leader,” she said.

“For those Green Party members who have taken great pleasure in attacking me and calling for assaults against me and calling for organization against me and suggesting I am part of a conspiracy against the party, you may take small comfort but please know there are many more people like me than you and you will not succeed in the end.”

She reminded members that a battle for the party's soul was still going on.

She then walked away without taking any questions from the press.

Ms. Paul, a lawyer, was elected Green Party leader in October 2020, succeeding interim leader Jo-Ann Roberts and the party's previous leader, Elizabeth May, who served from 2006 to 2019.

In the recent federal election, she came in fourth in Toronto Centre, but was unable to secure a seat.

The national picture was just as bleak. The Green Party's vote percentage dropped from 6.55 percent in 2019 to 2.3 percent in 2020. They won a seat in Ontario — Mike Morrice was elected in Kitchener Centre – but they lost the Nanaimo-Ladysmith riding on Vancouver Island, one of two seats they held at the time of dissolution.

Due to financial constraints, Ms Paul rarely visited Toronto Centre, although other party leaders travelled across Canada in pursuit of votes.

Ms. Paul and members of the party's governing federal council had been at odds for months, with the latter attempting to unseat her at times.

In addition, the Greens only nominated candidates in 252 of the 338 ridings.

The embattled Green leader would have been subjected to a six-month leadership review, as is customary after a federal election, and would have needed 60 percent support to preserve her job.

The Greens lost their single-seat outside of British Columbia before the election. In June, Jenica Atwin, who won the Fredericton riding in 2019, defected to the Liberals. In last week's election, she retained her position.