Jonathan Pedneault, co-leader of the Greens, stepped down from the helm of the party on Wednesday, saying in a statement that he will “take responsibility” for its election losses.
“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,” he wrote in a statement published online. “I therefore hereby submit my resignation … effective immediately.”
Pedneault, a human rights investigator, activist, and documentary maker who spent 14 years working in conflict areas, joined Elizabeth May as co-leader in February.
Without a seat in the House of Commons of his own, Pedneault ran in the riding of Outremont on the Island of Montreal.
On election day, he placed fifth overall. Liberal candidate Rachel Bandayan won the seat with 26,024 votes. Pedneault picked up 4,539.
It was Pedneault’s second unsuccessful run for the Greens. In the 2023 byelection, he launched a bid for neighbouring riding Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount but lost.
“Twice now, I have failed to convince my fellow citizens to send me to Ottawa,” he wrote. “I am grateful for Elizabeth’s leadership and know that her knowledge and experience will be needed to help the party learn and grow.”
May comfortably held her Saanich-Gulf Islands seat with 39 per cent of the vote.
On Wednesday, Elections Canada reported the party received just 1.2 per cent of national votes. May was the only Green candidate to secure a seat in the House of Commons. Mike Morrice, the Green incumbent for Kitchener Centre, lost his seat to Conservative Kelly DeRidder, and former MP Paul Manly lost Nanaimo-Ladysmith to Conservative Tamara Kronis.
Pedneault lamented their losses in a social media post on election night and hinted he was considering resigning.
“I will meet with Elizabeth tomorrow to discuss my own future in politics and eventual transitions. Accountability is needed and I failed to bring forth the results we hoped for. New progressive voices must emerge,” he wrote.
The party hit a speed bump when it was barred from participating in the official leaders’ debates.
The Leaders’ Debates Commission’ said the Green Party had not met the bar by fulfilling two of three conditions for participation: having candidates in 90 per cent of ridings, polling at four per cent support 28 days before election day and having at least one sitting MP at dissolution.
Pedneault was to represent the party alone.
“Never forget that the work you do, even when it doesn’t show up in seats, matters profoundly to the people watching, to the people listening, and to the people who will come after us,” Pedneault wrote in his Wednesday letter.
