Jonathan Pedneault has announced that he is stepping down as co-leader of the Green Party after failing to secure a seat in the House of Commons on his second attempt.
“While I remain proud of the program the party built and the values we brought forward during this campaign, 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 said in a letter posted online.
“Twice now, I have failed to convince my fellow citizens to send me to Ottawa,” he said. “I therefore hereby submit my resignation as co-Leader of the Green Party of Canada, effective immediately.”
Pedneault previously worked as a journalist and an activist, including with Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, in conflict zones around the world before entering politics.
Pedneault first won the leadership of the party in the fall of 2022 on a co-leadership ticket with May, who had previously served as party leader from 2006 to 2019.
Pedneault first ran for a seat in the House in a federal byelection in the Montreal riding of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce–Westmount in June 2023, but lost to Liberal Anna Gainey who won with almost 51 per cent of the vote.
In June, 2024 Pedneault announced he was stepping down from his co-leadership position for “personal reasons.” He returned to the Greens in January 2025.
After being removed from the debates for failing to meet participation requirements, Pedneault, who would have represented his party on the debate stage, failed to secure a seat in the federal election.
Pedneault came fifth in the Montreal riding of Outremont, securing just 9.6 per cent of the vote. Liberal Rachel Bendayan won the riding with 55.2 per cent of the vote.