What is the Green Party of Canada?
Answer
The federal political party founded in 1983 that prioritises environmental policy and sustainability, currently led by co-leaders Elizabeth May and Jonathan Pedneault.
Explanation
The Green Party of Canada (in French, Parti vert du Canada) is the federal political party that prioritises environmental policy, sustainability, and ecological wisdom. The Greens were founded on November 14, 1983, the third-oldest federal Green party in the world after Germany's Die Grünen and Australia's Australian Greens. The current co-leaders are Elizabeth May (federal Green leader 1989, again 2006 to 2019, and again since November 2022) and Jonathan Pedneault (since November 2022).
The Green Party's electoral history shows steady growth from minor-party status. The Greens won their first federal seat on May 2, 2011 when Elizabeth May won Saanich-Gulf Islands in BC, the first Green MP in any federal election in North America. The party has consistently held one to three federal seats since: 1 in 2015, 3 in 2019, 2 in 2021, and 7 in 2025 (the highest result in Green history, partly through gains in BC and Atlantic Canada).
The Green platform combines six core values: ecological wisdom, social justice, participatory democracy, non-violence, sustainability, and respect for diversity. Major Green policy positions include carbon pricing (favouring stronger and more comprehensive carbon pricing than the current federal Output-Based Pricing System), the Just Transition for fossil-fuel workers, the Green New Deal for Canada, electoral reform (replacing first-past-the-post with proportional representation), Indigenous reconciliation, basic-income guarantee, decriminalisation of personal drug possession, demilitarisation, and biodiversity protection.
Notable Green Party figures include Elizabeth May (MP for Saanich-Gulf Islands since 2011, the most tenured Green MP), Annamie Paul (former leader 2020 to 2021, the first Black woman to lead a major federal Canadian political party), Paul Manly (MP for Nanaimo-Ladysmith 2019 to 2021), and Mike Schreiner (Ontario Green Party leader, the first Green elected to a Canadian provincial legislature, in 2018). The Greens have provincial representation in BC (2 MLAs), New Brunswick (3 MLAs), Prince Edward Island (8 MLAs and Official Opposition since 2019), and Ontario (1 MPP). The party's official colour is green.
Why this matters for your test
The Green Party of Canada is the principal environmental party in federal politics. Recognising the 1983 founding and the 2011 first federal seat (Elizabeth May) gives candidates two specific anchors.
Source: Green Party of Canada; Library of Parliament
