In a stunning reversal, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May voted in favor of the 2025 federal budget—a budget heavily criticized by environmentalists and peace advocates as a “war budget” that slashes climate programs while ramping up military spending. For many who have long seen May as a principled champion of the environment and peace, her support for this budget raises serious questions about the integrity of Green leadership in Parliament.
A Budget That Funds War, Not the Planet
The 2025 budget allocates billions to military expansion, including new fighter jets, naval equipment, and surveillance systems. Meanwhile, key environmental programs—including funding for energy retrofits, public transit, and Pacific salmon restoration—have been reduced or eliminated. The oil and gas emissions cap has been shelved, and fossil fuel subsidies remain untouched.
This is not a climate budget. It’s a budget that privileges military contracts and corporate tax breaks while gutting Canada’s already fragile climate commitments. For a party whose founding values include nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice, voting for such a budget is not just a compromise—it’s a betrayal.
Words Over Action
May defended her decision by pointing to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s last-minute verbal pledge to meet the Paris Agreement climate targets. But this promise came without a clear plan, legal enforcement, or concrete policy measures. The emissions cap is gone. The consumer carbon price is scrapped. The industrial carbon price remains politically vulnerable. In exchange for a vague assurance, May gave her vote to a government openly increasing oil and gas production.
What message does this send? That symbolic gestures are enough to secure Green support, even when the policies themselves undermine the party’s core commitments? That climate action can be traded for political stability? May claims she voted to prevent an election, but in doing so, she gave legitimacy to a budget that accelerates climate breakdown and militarization.
Who Does This Budget Serve?
Not the public. Not the planet. The biggest beneficiaries of Budget 2025 are corporate giants, fossil fuel investors, and weapons manufacturers. A new tax deduction rewards massive capital purchases by large firms—many of which are tied to extractive industries. Climate adaptation funding is stagnant. Indigenous-led conservation initiatives were left out entirely.
By supporting this budget, May helped enable a transfer of public wealth into the hands of polluters and arms dealers. It’s a stark departure from her party’s calls for a just transition, green jobs, and demilitarization.
A Dangerous Precedent
May says she will hold the government accountable. But what leverage remains once the budget has passed? With her support, the Liberals no longer need to win over progressive voices. They can offer vague commitments, knowing it might be enough to quiet dissent.
This sets a troubling precedent. If the Green Party’s lone MP is willing to fold on core issues in a moment of maximum leverage, how can Canadians trust them to fight for transformative change when it really counts
