In the wake of the Green Party of Canada’s worst electoral performance in over two decades, former party donor and longtime observer Steve Ward of Kingston Ontario has published a thoughtful, widely shared reflection on the state of the Greens—delivering both a clear-eyed critique and a heartfelt farewell to a movement he once supported.
In his detailed analysis, Ward points to the party’s 50% drop in support since 2021, the failure to run a full slate of candidates, and a disastrously mishandled debate commission debacle as key indicators that the Green Party has now entered fringe territory.
“Only four of the party’s 232 candidates won greater than 10% of the vote,” Ward noted, making them eligible for an Elections Canada reimbursement. “This was the Green Party’s election to turn things around… and instead, they sunk to new lows.”
Ward doesn’t hold back from addressing the party’s leadership crisis, questioning the decision to sideline Elizabeth May—“one of the best parliamentarians of our generation”—in favor of newcomer Jonathan Pedneault. He describes Pedneault as “an unproven rookie” whose campaign performance, particularly during the press conference reacting to the party’s exclusion from the national debates, came across as “emotional and petulant.”
Perhaps most pointedly, Ward outlines how the party attempted to manipulate the debate eligibility criteria—criteria the Greens themselves had helped draft in 2016—by insisting their “intention” to nominate candidates in 90% of ridings should override the reality that only 68% were actually nominated.
“Anyone with a modicum of common sense would infer that intending to nominate candidates implied that said candidates would be nominated,” he wrote, slamming the party’s legal challenge against the commission as “a ridiculous waste” and a “laughable” misstep that ultimately harmed the Greens’ reputation.
Ward, who ended his financial support for the party over the lawsuit, calls for honesty and accountability instead of spin. “The party dug in and made ridiculous arguments that were laughed at by the rest of the political establishment,” he observed, expressing concern that this behavior contributed directly to the loss of strong candidates like Mike Morrice and Paul Manly.
While clearly disillusioned, Ward’s commentary is not vindictive. Instead, it reads as a candid and deeply considered reflection from someone who genuinely wanted the Greens to succeed—but has now come to terms with their decline.
“Dynamic is one name for it,” he wrote in reference to Pedneault’s campaign. “This was nothing more than an exercise in his own self-promotion. I am surprised more GPC members can’t see right through him.”
As the Green Party faces a period of reckoning, voices like Steve Ward’s underscore the importance of transparency, humility, and authentic renewal.
