Annamie Paul

Annamie Paul (born November 3, 1972) is a Canadian activist, lawyer, and former politician who served as the leader of the Green Party of Canada from 2020 to 2021.

[8][9][10][11] Leading up to the 2021 federal election, Paul leadership was dogged by party infighting brought on by senior advisor Noah Zatzman and his controversial statement in the wake of evictions in Sheikh Jarrah.

[19][26] Through the CCPL, Paul ran training sessions across Canada,[27] as well as conferences devoted to participation in elected roles and board appointments.

[35] Paul interned for Liberal MPP Dominic Agostino in 1996, who served as Gerard Kennedy's leadership campaign co-chair.

She stood in the 2019 federal election as the Green Party candidate in Toronto Centre, where she lost to then-Finance Minister Bill Morneau.

[37][38][39] Soon after her nomination, she was appointed to the Green Party's Shadow Cabinet as International Affairs Critic by Elizabeth May, a position she held until February 2020, when she stepped down to enter the leadership race.

[42] On September 24, 2020, Paul announced that she had received permission from the Green Party to apply to be a candidate in the October 2020 federal by-election in Toronto Centre.

[49] In January 2021, it was reported that Paul had decided to run in an Ontario riding during the next federal election, and was considering Guelph or a Toronto electoral district.

[58][59][60] Atwin subsequently crossed the floor and joined the Liberal Party on June 10, citing lack of support from Paul's leadership after Zatzman's threat.

[68] In response to the bid to oust her as party leader, Paul publicly criticised a letter that was written by several councillors and presented at the June 15 council meeting that initially discussed the non-confidence vote.

[70] Paul further characterized Justin Trudeau as being a "faux-feminist" for opportunistically "undermining" her leadership, whilst accusing Chrystia Freeland of being a "female shield" to the Prime Minister.

[74][75] On June 19, Lisa Gunderson withdrew from the party nomination contest for the Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke federal riding, stating that "recent events [were] not consistent with Green values.

[78] As Paul's resignation had not taken effect due to prolonged negotiations on a settlement of outstanding financial issues, an automatic leadership vote of all party members commenced in October and was to conclude on November 25, 2021.

Paul with Green Party supporters, several weeks prior to the 2019 Canadian federal election