Our Pledge

Let’s get back to basics: Why are we Greens?

Why are we Greens?

If your answer is to ensure our youth inherit a livable, peaceful future, you’ll be interested in our plan.

It’s a plan for the Green Party of Canada, the country and the planet.

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As our party, our country and the planet experience crisis and conflicts, we are standing at the edge of too late. We cannot afford to move in a wrong direction. Health, the economy, education, food security, stability; our very survival stands on that edge.

Canadians ask us why we have lost our way. We need to accept that criticism and restore their faith in us. We need to be the strong voice we all need for meaningful climate action. 

The task ahead is monumental and requires strong synergy with an experienced and inspiring team at the helm: we must learn from the past, heal, restructure and move forward. 

It should be clear to all our members and supporters that multiple crises call on us to step up. We can no longer limit ourselves to being the “voice of reason” in opposition. If we are to put our ideas in action, we urgently need to commit to being the party Canada needs.

We need to get down to business.

With the climate emergency blaring louder warning signals than ever, the country desperately needs more Green Party Members of Parliament. Greens are now in eleven national governments, working around the world. Greens in government make a difference.

It is a plan that relies on a new model for leadership that is closer to Canadian and Green values; one that recognizes that grassroots democracy and respect for diversity are better reflected through distributed leadership.

We are in this race to win and ensure the Greens achieve the balance of power in the 2025 election. By 2030, our plan takes us into a collaborative government of Canada.

Like many Green Parties around the world, we believe the Green Party of Canada should move to the model of co-leadership.

The Nitty Gritty – getting there from here:

  1. We urge people to vote for Jonathan in slot 1 and Elizabeth in slot 2.
  2. If one of us becomes leader, the other will be appointed Deputy Leader as per our current Constitution. This will explicitly be seen as a step to co-leadership – but only if, and, when members approve the Constitutional change and ratify it.
  3. At the first opportunity, we will propose a Constitutional change from “leader” to “co-leaders.” The co-leaders would be prescribed by various identifiers of balance and diversity. Co-leaders should reflect diversity in various ways including different genders, languages, cultures, sexuality, ages, backgrounds, race, aspects of focus in previous life’s work, etc, guiding the party for the future.
  4. We will share the one vote and one seat at the council table currently occupied by the sole leader to avoid any increase in leader power or authority.
  5. On the second round of BGM voting, where will be two votes on the question: the ratification vote and a vote to confirm that the Green Party of Canada’s first co-leaders will be Elizabeth and Jonathan.
  6. Performance reviews post-election will continue as per the current Constitution voting on co-leaders as a team.
  7. Assuming members agree, the changes to the Constitution should be completed prior to the 2025 election.
  8. There will then be a consensus-based process to decide which co-leader takes on the role of lead for the national debates and any other Elections Act or campaign requirements for a single leader during the writ period. The choice of either Jonathan or Elizabeth will be ratified by members, but we will remain co-leaders outside of the writ.