The Green Party of Canada has elected Toronto-based human rights lawyer Annamie Paul as its new leader. Paul won a bare majority of votes earlier this week in the eighth round of the Green leadership contest, defeating Dimitri Lascaris. Paul won with 12,090 votes, while Lascaris received 10,081 votes.
Paul is the first woman of nonwhite descent to become the leader of the Greens. In her winning speech at the Ottawa Art Gallery, Paul described herself as a descendant of slaves and an ally of Aboriginal people fighting for justice. “These are historic moments that she will always remember,” she said. Paul is a non-practicing lawyer who has spent most of her career in international organizations, including the International Criminal Court and Canada’s European Union Mission.
“I was born in Toronto, my mother taught in Toronto schools, my grandmother worked as a frontline service worker in Toronto Center hospitals,” Paul said. “I will raise the voice of Toronto residents.” Paul will replace Elizabeth May as the new president of the Green Party, who resigned after 13 years of service.
May will remain a force in the party, as she is still one of its three MPs and, as of now, intends to remain as parliamentary leader in the House of Commons. Annamie Paul (Submitted Photo)
