On April 29, 2025, following the Green Party of Canada’s worst electoral performance in 25 years, co-leader Jonathan Pedneault submitted his resignation in a letter addressed to the party’s Federal Council. The announcement came just hours after final results confirmed that the Greens had failed to re-elect Mike Morrice, did not win back Paul Manly’s seat, and captured only 1.2% of the popular vote — a catastrophic result by any measure.
In his letter, Pedneault took full responsibility for the campaign’s failure, writing:
“I must however take responsibility for the failure to translate our ideas, our passion, and our vision into the electoral gains Canadians so urgently need.”
He continued:
“I therefore hereby submit my resignation as Co-Leader of the Green Party of Canada, effective immediately.”
This stunning move places the spotlight squarely on Elizabeth May, who easily held onto her seat in Saanich–Gulf Islands, but now leads a fractured and demoralized party from a caucus of one.
A Leadership Void, or a Clinging Grip?
With Pedneault gone, many are now asking: will May finally follow suit?
Critics have pointed out that May — who originally promised she would not return to leadership — has reasserted herself at every stage since 2022. She handpicked Pedneault as her running mate, pushed the party toward NATO-aligned foreign policy, and endorsed strategic voting that arguably siphoned away Green support.
Despite this, she delivered what sounded like a victory speech on election night and boasted that Liberal leader Mark Carney had personally called her to offer congratulations — a tone deaf moment, given the party’s collapse.
Will She Sit as an Independent?
Alex Tyrrell, leader of the Green Party of Québec and longtime critic of the federal party’s direction under May, was quick to react. In a statement shared across social media, Tyrrell called on May to follow Pedneault’s lead and resign from party leadership entirely — and to sit as an independent MP so the party can rebuild from the ground up.
“May should sit as an independent and allow the organization to progress beyond her personality by holding a leadership race where she does not determine the rules, rig the process, or support a candidate as she did in previous rounds. All this needs to happen quickly since it’s an unstable minority government.”