By Canadian Press

Green Party leadership candidates debate ahead of vote, respond to party disarray

Nov 9, 2022 | 8:05 PM

OTTAWA — Candidates vying to helm Canada’s federal Green Party offered their visions for the party’s future ⁠— and their explanations for its disarray ⁠— during a leadership debate this evening. 

Elizabeth May, who is running on a joint ticket with Jonathan Pedneault, argued that she left the party in excellent shape when she resigned the leadership in 2019.

The B.C. MP warned that the party becomes less relevant the longer it goes without a leader who is in Parliament, and she can hit the ground running to help rebuild its reputation.

Chad Walcott, who is running on a joint ticket with Anna Keenan, said the party should elect new leadership and prove to Canadians that it can stand on its feet and not move backwards. 

Sarah Gabrielle Baron said a battle of two egos at the top doesn’t make for a grassroots organization, and Simon Gnocchini-Messier argued that the media narrative of a party in disarray doesn’t jell with his experience.

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But questions about the party’s viability hung heavy over the debate, which attracted an audience of fewer than 500 on Zoom, with all six candidates pledging to repair internal rifts.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2022.

The Canadian Press