The Green Party of Canada has a clear, direct and democratic method of conducting a leadership review following a general election.
As mandated by the member-formed Constitution, a leadership review must be conducted within six months of the general election. This review is conducted through an online vote available to all members and administered by an independent company.
At the 2010 Convention, Green Party membership voted to change the Constitution so that a leadership review is required within six months of every general election. This change stipulates that if the leader does not get 60% approval from the membership, a leadership race is organized.
Other national parties conduct leadership endorsement votes at their conventions by allowing only attending delegates to vote to endorse the leader; the Liberal Party holds its leadership endorsement vote at the EDA level in conjunction with delegate selection. The Green Party of Canada is the only national party that gives members the opportunity to directly cast a leadership review ballot online.
The leadership review vote this year will conclude by April 15. The next Party Convention will be held Aug. 5-7.
Since the election, the party has solicited feedback and received replies from around 120 candidates, 330 volunteers, 2,100 members, and over 8,700 supporters. Surveys asked for feedback on the election effort and also for opinions on the future direction of the party. We are currently collating this feedback into a report, which will be circulated to relevant stakeholders once complete.
As a grassroots party, many member discussions and new initiatives arise organically, as they should, while other avenues for communication are provided by the Party. A number of EDAs have taken initiative and formed their own committees or held meetings to review the recent election, and are providing us with ideas and recommendations.
Members have been, and will continue to be encouraged to engage with one another through in-person meetings, online forums and the Party website. In the coming months, we will engage members through face-to-face meetings, webinars and at our upcoming Convention to both assess our election performance and plan for the future.
The Party will continue to conduct itself as mandated by our member-formed Constitution, under the direction of Federal Council.