The Green Party of Canada has announced that Jonathan Pedneault has been officially confirmed as co-leader alongside Elizabeth May, but one key detail is missing from their statement: the voter turnout.
While the party highlighted that 89.4% of voting members approved May and Pedneault’s joint leadership, they did not reveal how many members actually participated in the vote. This omission has raised speculation that turnout was extremely low, as this was not a competitive election with multiple candidates but rather a procedural rubber-stamping of a predetermined outcome.
How Low Was the Turnout? Party Stays Silent
The lack of transparency on turnout figures stands in stark contrast to previous leadership races, where participation rates were openly reported.
• In the 2020 leadership race, which featured Dimitri Lascaris, Annamie Paul, and several other candidates, 69% of eligible members cast a ballot.
• In 2022, when May and Pedneault ran as a co-leadership team, turnout dropped significantly to 36%, reflecting a steep decline in engagement.
• However, the drop in turnout was compounded by a massive decline in membership. Between 2020 and 2022, tens of thousands of members left the party, meaning that not only did fewer people vote, but the overall voting pool was much smaller to begin with.
The 2022 numbers suggest that members were simply uninterested in voting on May’s return to leadership, a trend that likely continued into this year’s co-leadership ratification vote. Given this pattern, turnout for this latest vote could be even lower, which would undercut the legitimacy of the party’s framing of this as a “resounding” endorsement.
A Non-Competitive Process
Unlike previous leadership races, this was not an election where members had a choice between different candidates. Instead, it was a yes-or-no vote on a motion that had already been decided months earlier.
This lack of competition likely further discouraged participation, as members who disagreed with the process may have simply opted not to vote at all. The absence of turnout figures suggests the party may be trying to avoid drawing attention to just how few people took part.
Can the Green Party Reverse Its Decline?
The Green Party’s failure to disclose voter turnout raises concerns about internal engagement, democratic participation, and transparency. If turnout was as low as suspected, it reinforces criticisms that the party’s leadership is being decided by an increasingly small and disengaged membership rather than through a robust, competitive process.
With the party’s membership shrinking and enthusiasm at a low point, the clearest path to rebuilding may be for May and Pedneault to step aside and allow for a truly open leadership race—one that could re-engage members and bring fresh energy into the party. Until then, the trend of declining participation may only continue.
