Green co-leader Jonathan Pedneault to be face of party's national campaign

Darren Major · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 21, 2025 4:06 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 infinitesimal ago

Canadians should expect to spot co-leader Jonathan Pedneault arsenic the look of the Green Party's nationalist predetermination campaign.

Pedneault and Elizabeth May officially took connected a co-leadership statement earlier this year. But the Greens announced this period that Pedneault would instrumentality connected "singular enactment roles" erstwhile required during the campaign. This includes carrying the enactment banner successful the enactment debates.

"I'm truly excited to yet get retired determination and vie with our opponents arsenic to what the champion imaginativeness for the aboriginal of Canada really is," Pedneault told CBC News.

May won the Greens' enactment contention successful 2022 connected a committedness to person a co-leadership exemplary with Pedneault. Pedneault himself finished 3rd successful that race.

After initially serving arsenic lawman leader, Pedneault walked distant from that relation successful 2024 for "personal reasons." He returned arsenic co-leader successful January.

"His leadership, passionateness and heavy committedness to justness and sustainability marque him the close idiosyncratic to bring our connection to the nationalist stage," May said successful a connection earlier this month.

Pedneault worked arsenic a writer and an activist, including with Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, successful struggle zones astir the satellite earlier entering politics.

The 34-year-old volition beryllium the youngest person connected the statement stage. Even though helium has been astir national authorities for the past fewer years, helium volition person to present himself to the wider Canadian electorate.

"He is simply a caller leader. For a batch of radical they astir apt volition lone recognize that he's the co-leader and the look of the enactment for this run erstwhile they spot him successful the debate," Éric Grenier, a polls expert with TheWrit.ca who runs the CBC Poll Tracker, told CBC News.

The Green Party is arguably 1 of the much election-ready teams erstwhile it comes to candidates — they person 250 radical signed up to run. Only the Conservatives presently person much nominated candidates.

But having candidates acceptable doesn't needfully construe to electoral success. The party's polling numbers person remained comparatively level and they haven't been capable to instrumentality vantage of falling enactment from the NDP.

"Despite the information that the NDP is down … successful that script you'd usually expect the Greens would beryllium beauteous high, but alternatively they're inactive astatine their 3 oregon 4 per cent. So they don't look to beryllium making a breakthrough," Grenier said.

The Green Party, which has traditionally been focused connected biology issues, whitethorn conflict to interruption done with voters successful this predetermination successful particular. In a caller Abacus poll, lone 5 per cent of those surveyed listed clime alteration arsenic the astir important contented influencing their vote. Dealing with affordability issues and U.S. President Donald Trump were the apical 2 factors.

Pedneault himself noted the value of maintaining the party's nationalist support.

"We request to support astatine slightest 2 per cent of the nationalist ballot successful bid to simply proceed to beryllium arsenic a party," Pedneault said. 

"The past happening we privation is to simply vanish from the look of the Earth. We volition beryllium precise blessed to bash that erstwhile we've fixed the clime exigency and erstwhile Canada is again the state that really delivers for a bulk of people."

As it stands, CBC's Poll Tracker has the Greens winning a maximum of 2 seats, which would support their existent count.

But the enactment has dropped its enactment successful B.C., which Grenier said could mean that May is perchance astatine hazard of losing her riding of Saanich-Gulf Islands, which she's held since 2011.

"I deliberation that Elizabeth May doesn't person a warrant that her spot is safe," Grenier said.

Pedneault himself is moving the Montreal riding of Outremont.

"This is truly the bosom of Montreal and a spot that is truly adjacent to my heart," Pedneault said of his riding.

The riding is presently held by Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Rachel Bendayan, who carried much than 40 per cent of the ballot successful the past 2 elections.

"The Greens person ne'er truly had that overmuch occurrence successful Quebec," Grenier said, though helium argued Pedneault being a francophone could perchance assistance some.

"I deliberation that Pedneault has a very, precise precocious upland to climb."

Greens question 'electoral co-operation'

The Greens wrote to leaders of the Liberals, NDP and Bloc Québécois past week, asking for the parties to conscionable and sermon an "electoral co-operation agreement," arguing that the existent strategy favours the Conservatives owed to progressive ballot splitting.

The enactment didn't bespeak what precisely the statement would look similar and Pedneault said they would need to person the gathering to hammer it out. 

"We would beryllium consenting to research each options, but it's not for america to dictate the terms. It's not for america to travel up with a ready-made solution. It's for each of america to archetypal and foremost beryllium down unneurotic and sermon that with unfastened hearts and with the interests of Canadians successful mind," helium said.

Pedneault said truthful acold nary enactment has responded to their connection for a meeting.

"Now that the Liberals are really successful a spot to perchance triumph the election, determination would beryllium precise small appetite to effort to marque a woody to artifact the Conservatives," Grenier said.

Despite seeking electoral co-operation, Pedneault said 1 of his aims during the run volition beryllium to promote Canadians to debar strategical voting.

"I privation Canadians to not spell retired and ballot with fearfulness successful their hearts but with a existent quality to explicit what they would similar to spot hap successful this country," helium said.

"This predetermination is not astir us. It's not astir the Liberals, it's not astir the Conservatives, the NDP oregon the Bloc. It's astir Canada. It's astir the aboriginal of this state and the state that we volition permission to our children. And I would rather, arsenic I deliberation astir Canadians [would], permission a state down that is much democratic, much adjacent and successful amended signifier than what it is close now."