Jonathan Pedneault has resigned as Green co-leader, just months after he took on the job and after failing to help the party "break through" in Monday's election.
In a letter addressed to the party's federal council and posted to social media, Pedneault said a minority Parliament victory for the Liberals shows the need for electoral reform “more than ever,” but he must also take responsibility for the Greens’ poor showing.
“Twice now, I have failed to convince my fellow citizens to send me to Ottawa,” said Pedneault.
“While I remain proud of the program the party built and the values we brought forward during this campaign, I recognize that we were not able to break through in a way that could shift the course of our country — and that is a responsibility I must carry.”
Preliminary results show he placed a distant fifth in the Quebec riding of Outremont, which Immigration Minister Rachel Bendayan was able to defend with over half the vote this week. That’s after Pedneault fared slightly better in a 2023 byelection, placing fourth in a seat that the Liberals captured that year and defended again on Monday.
Pedneault noted the party took another hit as Mike Morrice was unable to defend his Kitchener Centre seat, with early results showing Morrice fell 0.6 points short of CPC newcomer Kelly DeRidder.
The Greens were also hoping to welcome back Paul Manly in Nanaimo—Ladysmith, a riding he captured in a 2019 byelection before being ousted in the 2021 vote. Early results show Manly placed fourth behind a CPC newcomer, who squeezed out the NDP incumbent.
The overall campaign evolved in a tight two-way race between the Liberals and Conservatives, with the former falling just shy of securing a majority and the latter’s leader, Pierre Poilievre, unable to defend his seat. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh will step aside following an abysmal showing that saw his team squeezed out by the two front-runners, while Pedneault’s decision means co-leader Elizabeth May — who held onto her riding with a 7.3 per cent margin over the Liberals — will now be at the helm solo.
It’s been a rough ride for Pedneault, who was initially the party’s deputy leader before resigning from that job last year — only to return as co-leader in January after the party greenlit changes to pave the way for such a model.
The 34-year-old framed himself as a youthful and progressive alternative to the more established leaders, but took a major hit when the Leaders’ Debates Commission booted him from the events over what it said was the party’s “strategic” decision to hold back candidates in certain ridings. Pedneault criticized that decision as undemocratic and the party is asking the courts to weigh in on it.
Pedneault, a human rights advocate and documentarian before he entered politics, did not say what’s next for him and admitted it will not be an “easy” road ahead.
“But the Green Party has never been about one person — or even two. It has always been about the people, the land and the generations to come,” he added.
