2020 Green Party of Canada leadership election
The 2020 Green Party of Canada leadership election took place between September 26 and October 3, 2020, to elect a leader to replace Elizabeth May, who resigned on November 4, 2019, after leading the party for more than a decade and achieving a record three seats in Parliament in the 2019 federal election. Eight candidates were running to replace her. While the candidates offered different visions for the future of the party and make various policy proposals, they all agree that climate change is a serious issue, oppose the construction of new pipelines , support a guaranteed livable income, and propose some form of proportional representation in federal elections. The Green Party of Canada had no polls conducting who the frontrunners of the race were, so instead the status was decided by the media based on how much money a candidate raised. In that sense, the two frontrunners were Annamie Paul and Dimitri Lascaris. Paul, an activist and lawyer from Toronto, won the election on the eighth round of voting. Her win was described as a win for "the more centrist camp". Election format. The vote will be held online between September 26 and  October 3, as well as by mail-in ballot. All party members as of 11:59 p.m. PDT on September 3, 2020, who are 14 years of age or older are eligible to vote. The vote is a one member, one vote preferential ballot with a none of the above option. The candidate with a majority of votes after a minimum of one ballot wins the leadership. The Greens originally planned to announce the election results at the party's biennial convention in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, however the convention was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, the candidates will  gather in Ottawa, Ontario for the results, which will be announced online at 9:00 p.m. ADT on October 3. Fundraising. Source Meryam Haddad, 32, is an immigration lawyer residing in Montreal, Quebec. Haddad immigrated from Syria at the age of 5 and has been a resident of Montreal since. She holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Ottawa and was the candidate for Châteauguay—Lacolle in 2019. She is openly lesbian. In the lead-up to the 2020 British Columbia general election, Haddad criticized the Green Party of British Columbia over leader Sonia Furstenau's positions on defunding  the police and Indigenous land rights, saying she would endorse the BC Ecosocialists over the Greens' provincial wing. She was disqualified from the election by the Green Party on September 22 for "intentionally undertaking an action that would bring the Green Party of Canada into disrepute." Haddad appealed and was reinstated two days later. Courtney Howard, 41, is an emergency room physician residing in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. She holds degrees from Simon Fraser University, University of British Columbia, and McGill University. She is the President of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment and a Clinical Associate Professor in  the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary. Amita Kuttner, 30, is an astrophysicist residing on Lasqueti Island, British Columbia. They hold a doctorate from the University of California, Santa Cruz. During the 2019 federal election, Kuttner was the candidate for Burnaby North—Seymour. Following the election, they served as the Green Party's Science and Innovation Critic. They are also the co-founder and director of the Moonlight Institute. Kuttner is openly non-binary and pansexual, and uses "they"/"them" pronouns. They have refused to hold fundraising events with former leader Elizabeth May, saying the offer of assistance  with fundraising does not address other systemic inequities in the race. Dimitri Lascaris, 56, is a lawyer and activist who was born in London, Ontario, and resides in Montreal, Quebec. He holds a law degree from the University of Toronto. He was the federal candidate for London West in 2015 and the Justice Critic in the Green Party's shadow cabinet in 2016, and is a former member of the Quebec Greens' National Executive. Lascaris' candidacy was initially rejected by the party's vetting committee, which was appealed. The appeal was accepted on June 2, and his candidacy was reinstated  and approved. David Merner, 58, is a retired lawyer residing on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. He holds degrees from Harvard College, University of Alberta, Oxford University, and University of Toronto. Prior to his university studies, David was largely educated in French pre-schools and primary schools. He was the former Green Party Critic for Justice (2018–2020), and was the Green Party candidate for Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke in 2019. From 2012 to 2013, he was the president of the Liberal Party of Canada's British Columbia wing and was their candidate for Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke in 2015. Prior to entering politics , Merner was a lawyer at the Department of Justice and for the Privy Council Office as well as the Ministry of Attorney General of British Columbia. He was also the recipient of the Head of the Public Service Award from the Government of Canada. Glen Murray, 62, is a politician residing in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He holds a degree in Urban Studies from Concordia University. He is the former Liberal MPP for Toronto Centre (2010–2017) and a former cabinet minister under Premiers Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne, most notably as the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change (2014–2017). He was  a candidate in the 2013 Ontario Liberal Party leadership election but withdrew from that contest midrace. Murray previously ran for the Liberals in Charleswood—St. James in 2004. In addition, he has also served as city councillor (1989–1998) and Mayor of Winnipeg (1998–2004). He has also been the CEO of the Canadian Urban Institute (2007–2010), and executive director of the Pembina Institute (2017–2018). He is openly gay. Annamie Paul, 47, is a human rights lawyer residing in Toronto. She holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Ottawa and a Master of Public Administration degree from Princeton University . She was the Green Party Critic for Global Affairs (2019–2020) and the federal candidate in Toronto Centre in 2019. Paul is also the Green Party nominee for Toronto Centre in the October 26, 2020 federal by-election, having received permission from the Federal Council to do so as a leadership candidate. Candidates. Andrew West. Andrew West, 45, is a lawyer residing in Ottawa, Ontario. He holds a degree in Environmental Law from University of Ottawa. He is the Green Party of Ontario critic for the Attorney General (2015–present). He stood as the provincial candidate in Carleton—Mississippi Mills in  2014, the federal candidate in Kanata—Carleton in 2015 and provincially in 2018, and as the provincial candidate in the 2020 Orléans by-election. Don Elzer is an environmental activist, businessman, and former journalist from Vancouver, British Columbia. He is the founder and owner of Wildcraft Forest, a natural health company. He currently resides just outside of Lumby with his family. Withdrew via email. Candidates who withdrew or failed to qualify. Judy N. Green. Judy N. Green is a computer scientist, veteran and small business owner residing in Nova Scotia. She holds a Bachelor of Computer Science (Honours) from Acadia  University and a Master of Computer Science from Carleton University. She was the candidate for West Nova in 2019. Green's candidacy was rejected by the party's vetting committee on June 2, which was appealed. The appeal was accepted and her candidacy was reinstated on June 10. She withdrew on August 30 and endorsed David Merner. Constantine Kritsonis, 62, is a former Ontario representative on the Green Party Council. He stood as the Green Party of Canada candidate for York Centre in 2015, 2011, 2006, 2004 and 1997, and the Green Party of Ontario candidate in Oakwood in 1995 . Withdrew following announcement of the election rules, citing the entrance fee at the time of announcement, $50,000, being too high. Later endorsed Dimitri Lascaris. Dylan Perceval-Maxwell is a Montreal activist and businessman. He was the Green Party candidate in Laurier—Sainte-Marie five times from 1997 to 2008 and the candidate in Alfred-Pellan in 2011. His 2006 campaign is the subject of the NFB documentary "Democracy 4 Dummies". Disqualified by the party after inappropriate statements going against the Greens' core values. Julie Tremblay-Cloutier is a businesswoman from Oka who was the Green Party candidate for Mirabel  in 2019, and a candidate for Oka City Council in 2017. Prior to entering politics, Tremblay-Cloutier was the head of a local pool and spa inspection company. Withdrew citing the leadership election rules, her lack of experience and resources to do fundraisers, and her concern that ideas and debates would become secondary to raising funds. Alex Tyrrell, 32, is the leader of the Green Party of Quebec (2013–present), and was the provincial candidate for Verdun in 2018, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce in 2014, and Jacques-Cartier in 2012. He was also the candidate in the Outremont, Chicoutimi, Gouin , Louis-Hébert, and Roberval by-elections in 2013, 2016, May 2017, October 2017 and 2018, respectively. Withdrew citing "Elizabeth May and her associates meddling in the election". Controversies. Endorsements. Former leader Elizabeth May was the subject of criticism over perceived implicit endorsements. Alex Tyrrell contended that May appeared with candidates at fundraisers to push them towards the lead. David Merner said it would be wiser for May to stay out of the contest completely. May responded that she was remaining neutral, but would help candidates from equity-seeking groups in fundraising efforts. Racism. Candidate Meryam Haddad accused fellow candidate Dylan  Perceval-Maxwell of racism for comments he made during a TVOntario debate. When asked about calls to defund the police, Perceval-Maxwell suggested having police officers "give $20 to every person of colour they stop". Haddad called the suggestion racist, and said it would not further the goal of ending systemic racism. Perceval-Maxwell suggested that Haddad was "angry that a white person came up with an idea." On July 8, the party announced that Perceval-Maxwell was no longer a candidate for the leadership, citing statements "not aligned with the party's values." 2020 Green Party of Canada