Elizabeth May
- Born
- June 9, 1954 — Hartford, Connecticut
- Family
- Married to John Kidder
- Education
- Dalhousie University (Law Degree); St. Francis Xavier University (attended but dropped out); Saint Paul University (attended but withdrew)
- Career
- Environmental lawyer; Executive Director of Sierra Club Canada
- Political Experience
- Leader of the Green Party of Canada; Member of Parliament for Saanich—Gulf Islands since 2011
- Notable
- Officer of the Order of Canada; Author of eight books; First Green Party MP elected to the House of Commons; Longest-serving female leader of a Canadian federal party
Based on publicly available information — may contain inaccuracies
Business & Financial Interests
Before entering politics, Elizabeth May had a long career as an environmental lawyer and activist. She served as the Executive Director of the Sierra Club of Canada from 1989 to 2006. She has also authored several books on environmental and political topics. Her public disclosures with the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner have listed assets such as a home in Sidney, British Columbia, and a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP).
Key Relationships & Connections
Elizabeth May has well-known connections within the environmental movement, including a long-standing public association with scientist and broadcaster David Suzuki. In Parliament, she formed a cooperative arrangement with former Liberal cabinet ministers Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott after they became Independent MPs in 2019. Her husband, John Kidder, was a co-founder of the Green Party of British Columbia and has also been a candidate for the federal Green Party.
Potential Conflicts of Interest
In 2017, the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner investigated Elizabeth May's involvement with the Green Party of Canada Fund, a registered charity. The investigation focused on whether she had used her position as an MP to solicit donations for the charity, which could potentially contravene conflict of interest rules. The Commissioner's report concluded that while her actions created an appearance of a conflict of interest, she did not actually breach the rules. The report recommended that MPs should not be personally involved in fundraising for charities they are associated with.
Public Controversies
Elizabeth May has been part of several public controversies. In 2015, her speech at the annual Parliamentary Press Gallery Dinner drew criticism for comments she made about former Guantanamo Bay detainee Omar Khadr, for which she later apologized. In March 2018, May was arrested and charged with civil contempt for violating a court injunction during a protest against the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project on Burnaby Mountain; she later pleaded guilty and paid a fine. Her leadership of the Green Party has also faced public scrutiny. She stepped down as leader in 2019 but was re-elected as co-leader in 2022 alongside Jonathan Pedneault. This return to leadership followed a period of reported internal party turmoil and was a subject of media attention.
Where Elizabeth falls on key policy spectrums
Your Money
People & Society
How We're Governed
Land & Community
Elizabeth May won with 31,199 votes (39.1%)
Total votes cast: 79,786
How does Elizabeth May's voting record line up with your values?
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to speak in this place just before we go to our constituencies. parliamentary secretary Calgary Centre As to the last exchange between the hon.and my friend from, we are all mindful of the losses in our military, particularly from the disaster that just happened at CFB Wainwright. There are things that we share in this place, and I hope one of them is
Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise to present a petition on behalf of residents of Saanich—Gulf Islands and elsewhere. This is e-petition 7056, with well over a thousand signatures. The petitioners are deeply concerned about the crisis of global climate change that is occurring and the impact on our children and grandchildren. The petitioners look at the science and put forward that Canada
Mr. Speaker, my point of order, unusually at the end of the question period, relates to something that happened yesterday in this place at approximately four o'clock. Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay Prime Minister Minister of Finance I think it was the member forwho had the floor and was speaking when the House was disrupted, very much contrary to Standing Order 16(2), in a gross
Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to my hon. colleague from Vancouver East. She raised many good points. One thing I was surprised by was from earlier today. One of the Liberals who were speaking to the budget said that it was really committed to robust cost-benefit analysis. However, there is no cost-benefit analysis anywhere, neither robust nor otherwise, for the proposed and now approved Pacific
minister Mr. Speaker, I have gone through the budget. I appreciate the opportunity, and I say to the hon.for heritage, good job on heritage, with creative work. My question is to the Minister of Finance. Is accounting now a creative industry? On page 352, we see that capital investments are defined broadly as including any expenditure, which is basically anything. This is the most bizarre
Mr. Speaker, 10 first nations have now gone to court to challenge the designation of the so-called Pacific link pipeline in the national interest. They point out that it contradicts and violates their treaty rights and constitutional rights, because how can they possibly assess whether a project impacts their treaty rights when the route is not finalized, the engineering has not been done and
C-34 Mr. Speaker, let me be clear. I do not think we can trust any of these AI companies, and Billwould not make them behave in ways that would make them trustworthy. They have to be held accountable. C-34 As much as I support the intent of Bill, proposed section 85 says: The purpose of a penalty is to promote compliance with this Act and not to punish. These are multi-billion-dollar
C-30 C-31 Mr. Speaker, I felt that it was really rather unfair for my hon. colleague from University—Rosedale, as someone with such a distinguished medical career, to suddenly find herself on the finance committee with Billbarrelling through, which eroded the Pest Control Products Act in ways that were not amended in the bill. I do appreciate the amendments she made to Bill. Does she not feel,
Mr. Speaker, I cannot tell the House how often memories come back to me of the Speaker's saying, “It being now 12:40 a.m., pursuant to an order reached earlier this week”, deeming a motion to adjourn the House to have been moved, and saying, “The hon. member for Saanich—Gulf Islands has the floor.” It is nice that our adjournment proceedings are beginning at a more civil hour and that there are
Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague and I both represent parts of Vancouver Island. Cowichan—Malahat—Langford is his constituency and Saanich—Gulf Islands is mine, and I want to thank him for the work to bring this forward. I want to again say that I also appreciate the work of the federal ombudsperson for victims of crime. I am someone who cares very much about civil liberties and the concerns for
Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise and present a petition I had intended to introduce during the last week of October, which was international Disarmament Week. The petitioners in this case, many of whom are from Saanich—Gulf Islands but not exclusively, are calling on the Government of Canada to note that the doomsday clock has now moved closer to midnight than at any time since it was
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Simcoe North Minister of Energy I am persnickety about the Standing Orders, and I particularly like Standing Order 16. I have never heckled in this place in 15 years. I know some members do, and I find it offensive when opposition members heckle members of the government's cabinet, but I find it even more offensive when the hon. member for, who happens to
Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound Madam Speaker, on this, I find myself unequivocally agreeing with the member of Parliament forand finding the argumentation from my friend, the parliamentary secretary, lacking because the fundamental piece around the best efficiencies, the best competitive bid, omits the commitment to buy Canadian. leader of the official opposition The maple-washing point made by thewould
Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise to present e-petition 6929. I mention the number because very close to 28,000 Canadians signed this petition. It is an honour to present it. The petition deals with really painful disabling diseases that Canadians suffer from in large numbers, yet these particular diseases, despite long diagnostic delays, medical complications and barriers, are not publicly
Mr. Speaker, earlier in his comments, the hon. member for Winnipeg North said something with which I completely agree, and I would like him to underscore the point. I wonder why he did not make the same point to my question of personal privilege, where he disagreed. He said just now, and he is absolutely right, that if there was a misleading statement but no intention to mislead, that was
Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise virtually today to present a petition from numerous citizens in my own riding of Saanich—Gulf Islands. As we all know, across the country, Canadians are deeply concerned about the unaffordability of housing and about homelessness. As the petitioners point out, these are twin national crises. They have a root cause in the financialization of housing, which
Mr. Speaker, I want to say that I am truly happy, but it is hard to be happy given the subject of a bill like this. I support this bill, and I want to thank the government for finally allowing advance requests. I hear it from my constituents all the time, and other Canadians, when somebody has been diagnosed with a terminal illness and they know their capacity to ask for this will come to an end