Jonathan Pedneault, co-leader of the Greens, is stepping down from his role at the helm of the party.
“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, also lost his seat to Conservative Kelly DeRidder.
“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.
The party hit a speed bump during the campaign when it was barred from participating in the official leaders’ debates. Pedneault was to represent the party alone.
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.