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This Sunday, at 11am Eastern in Toronto I will be at the public memorial service for Stephen Lewis. I heard about it, more or less, by accident, while emailing with Heather McPherson. We were trying to find a time we could get together. Heather and I have worked together on nuclear disarmament, often being the only Canadian MPs, along with Senator Marilou McPhedron, attending United Nations meetings on the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. (TPNW). I consider both Avi Lewis and Heather to be friends of mine, and after that tough NDP leadership race, I hope they are friends with each other. No matter how often I have been attacked by NDP backroom smear campaigns, as have most Greens, there is no doubt in my mind that our parliament will benefit from both a stronger Green presence and a stronger NDP caucus. Another dear friend is the last remaining NDP Quebec MP, Alexandre Boulerice. He told me some months ago that the rumours were true; that he had made up his mind that his political future lay in Quebec politics and becoming an MNA for the strongly left, sovereigntist, and (small g), green party, Quebec Solidaire. In the last day or so CBC news has confirmed that Alexandre will make his announcement very soon. I will miss him. We have worked together on so many issues. He was part of the group of 18 MPs, with participation from every party in the House, who toured the West Bank in 2018. He has also been strong in denouncing fossil fuel expansion and pipelines—far stronger than former leader Jagmeet Singh. In any case, losing another NDP MP is a blow to Avi Lewis, just starting out as leader. From seven MPs elected in April 2025, he will soon lead a caucus of five, not having a seat himself.

The Liberals and Conservatives have a shared goal. They both want a two-party system. They both want to eliminate the Greens and the NDP. They both want to keep First Past The Post. Canadians certainly do not want an even more toxic political culture, going the way of the USA with a hard-wired two party system. Canadian democracy benefits from more voices in parliament. Ideally we listen to each other, collaborate and cooperate. We do not have a lot of examples of such excellent parliamentary consensus building, but, for my money, the best federal parliament we ever had was the minority Liberal government of Prime Minister Lester B Pearson, with Leader of the Official Opposition John Diefenbaker and the strong role of the NDP, under leader David Lewis (yes! grandfather of Avi) with a caucus that included Tommy Douglas. That minority parliament brought us the Canada Pension Plan, unemployment insurance, interest-free student loans and (a real WOW) universal health care. And, of course, our flag!

First Past The Post is the cause of political toxicity and hyper-partisanship. Consensus-based voting systems, whether Mixed Member Proportional or Single Transferable Vote, foster cooperation. FPTP punishes cooperation and rewards nastiness. Greens will never abandon the effort to move to fair voting; not because it helps elect more Greens, but because it delivers better policy and a more respectful democracy.

On Friday, the Liberals announced approval of another BC fossil fuel pipeline. Enbridge will connect with fracked gas from the Woodfibre plant on Howe Sound. For years local groups have campaigned against approving the Woodfibre LNG plant, on the site of a former pulp mill. I have worked with the lead group “My Sea to Sky” for years. To learn more about why they oppose the Woodfibre LNG plant, read background here from their excellent website.

With the BC NDP government and Federal Liberals in something of a Hallelujah chorus, we need to do all we can to boost their grassroots campaign and share their research.

In what I suspect will be a model for the promised bitumen pipeline from Alberta to BC, Indigenous peoples are being given a financial stake in the project. Enbridge said it would sell a 12.5 per cent of the Sunrise pipeline to Stonlasec8 Indigenous Alliance for $715 million. That $715 million will come from the federal government. The Stonlasec8 Indigenous Alliance is described as 36 indigenous communities and an example of “economic reconciliation.” I get nervous about the term “economic reconciliation”. It seems like another form of colonialism. I will dig into this more. Respect for Indigenous wisdom and sovereignty requires that I research this more thoroughly. But, we know the Assembly of First Nations has raised the climate crisis as a top priority issue. How can this fossil fuel expansion be reconciled with the urgency of the climate crisis?

Coming from a completely different direction, the head of the International Energy Agency has laid out a clear case that the days of fossil fuels are numbered. Fatih Birol sees the threat to fossil fuels from the inherent financial risk due to instability and war.

“The oil crisis triggered by the Iran war has changed the fossil fuel industry forever, turning countries away from fossil fuels to secure energy supplies, the world’s leading energy economist said.

Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), also said that, despite pressure, the UK should forgo much of its potential North Sea expansion.

“Speaking exclusively to the Guardian, Birol said a key effect of the US-Israel war on Iran was that countries would lose trust in fossil fuels and demand for them would reduce.

“Their perception of risk and reliability will change. Governments will review their energy strategies. There will be a significant boost to renewables and nuclear power and a further shift towards a more electrified future,” he said. “And this will cut into the main markets for oil.”

Birol said there was no going back from the crisis: “The vase is broken, the damage is done—it will be very difficult to put the pieces back together. This will have permanent consequences for the global energy markets for years to come.”

The International Energy Agency has now made it clear: energy security comes from homegrown renewables: wind and solar.

When you think of it, when was the last time nations went to war to claim solar energy? Approximately never. “Free and abundant” does not really appeal to billionaires and warlords.

Meanwhile Canadian investment in renewable energy has declined. We are going against the global tide of huge increases in renewables—outpacing coal in countries like China (spending $500 billion in 2025 alone, compared to total US investment of $378 billion). Pakistan’s total investment may be small, but its boost in solar is mostly “behind the meter”, meaning individuals and households are bypassing utilities altogether, which contributes to their reduced fossil fuel use.

In personal news, I had my second surgery to fix my cataracts! On Tuesday I had my left eye fixed. My ophthalmologist was really pleased to learn I was able to do my late show debate in parliament, mere hours after being on his operating table. Oh the miracles of modern medicine,

Here is my post-op debate: Elizabeth May Questions the Government on Cuts to Foreign Aid Contradicting Election Promises

This week will be dominated in parliament by the tabling of the Spring Economic Statement on Tuesday. Next week’s letter will bring you my breakdown of the government’s latest budget-like document.

Love to all,
Elizabeth

PS a petition to help me fight for privacy rights!!

https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-7237

We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the House of Commons to oppose or repeal any changes to the Canada Elections Act, during the 45th Parliament, that have the effect of exempting political parties from privacy obligations that they are or were subject to; and impose enforceable privacy obligations equivalent to widely accepted Canadian fair information principles, including meaningful rights of access and independent oversight, prior to the next federal general election.

Closed for signature
July 4, 2026

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Canada Summer Jobs applications are officially open from April 20, 2026 to July 20, 2026, with positions running until August 29, 2026.

Explore a wide range of opportunities in high‑demand and growing sectors—including construction, technology, environmental work, recreation, tourism, and so much more. This is your chance to build skills, gain experience, and get paid while doing it!

Check the link to browse the job bank and apply: Find a job in Canada as a young Canadian – Job Bank

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Listening, I had to fight back tears at how far backwards we have slid. I heard my younger self voice and felt an overwhelming sense of melancholy. When they asked me about hope for the future, my reply: “I have a three-and-a-half-year-old daughter,” That really brought me to the edge of tears. My little girl is now a 34-year old mom, and my determination to keep the planet habitable is grounded in: “I have a one-and-a-half-year-old grand-daughter!” I must stay hopeful. It is a struggle, best taken on one day at a time.

In that I had an enormous boost this week. I had the rare chance to have a longish visit with one of my heroes, an old friend who very rarely travels to British Columbia. Bill McKibben was in Vancouver to do a Ted Talk. John and I met him at his hotel for breakfast. I had just read his wonderful new book Here Comes the Sun. One of the opening lines of the book closely parallels my feelings, reflecting on our work to raise climate awareness. In thinking back to his first best-selling call to action, The End of Nature, Bill wrote “in the decades since… I have chronicled those early warnings as they came true. This moment would seem to be—indeed it is—the summation and the vindication of all that angst,” and then—a pivot, thank heavens, Bill writes “And yet, right now, really for the first time, I can see a path forward. A path lit by the sun.”

Bill expresses guarded optimism. Over breakfast he shared his belief that Trump’s power and political influence is waning. Like me, Bob feels some hope attached to the global meeting, the one I mentioned last week, the First International Conference on the Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels. We are both alarmed by the latest research pointing to the unacceptably high risk of collapse of that great conveyor belt of current in the Atlantic Ocean (AMOC).

We are both very worried about what the death and destruction that may occur in next six months due to global warming-driven extreme weather events.

But we both know it is not too late to avoid the worst. Like me Bill has a grandchild, his first, a two-year-old grandson, Asa. And the path forward is lit by the sun.

The economics favour solar energy, but the commitment of petrostates, like Canada and the Saudis is to extract and use every last molecule of carbon, for greater wealth for the very few. Governments are working against the disruptive impacts of cheap and abundant renewable electricity. But the power of the new technology may be unstoppable. Already China is reducing GHG emissions thanks to the shift to solar and wind. Pakistan has made a huge shift toward solar.

One of my constituents is proving the impact one person can have. Tannis Wightman gave me a copy of Here Comes the Sun and then made an amazing offer: if she bought enough copies of the book and shipped them to Ottawa, could I please give one to every cabinet minister? She suggested I include this message: “I hope you will read “Here Comes the Sun” by Bill McKibben and find it as exciting as I did when I read it. I am an elderly woman in BC who is blatantly ‘lobbying’ you on behalf of every person in Canada!” Initially Tannis wanted her generous activism to be anonymous, but she has given me permission to share this with you. She has also contacted Green MLA Robert Botterell to get the book to every BC Cabinet minister! The power of one!!

We do have power and agency. Whether nine years old or ninety, we can do more!

We make connections coming from places of vast mystery. This week many humans were caught unaware by the overwhelming sense of awe prompted by the images beamed to Earth from the Artemis II mission. It led the hosts of the CBC Interior programme, Radio West, to ask listeners about what provoked awe for them.

John was, as usual, tuned in to CBC, and sent them this note, which they read on air:

“Hi, John Kidder here.

“In July a few years ago I was out weeding my little hopyard on the Bonaparte River just north of Ashcroft. I was wearing my normal summer uniform of a broad straw hat, a big white shirt, shorts, bare feet. It was hot, being July in Ashcroft, but not yet unbearable or dangerous, as it can get these days.

“Studying Buddhism helped me to understand that all living beings are connected, and I am often struck by feelings of kinship here in the desert with my ospreys and eagles, a sort of fellowship even with packrats. When I heard Indigenous elders and leaders close a speech with ‘all our relations’, I assumed they mean human and other animal relations… That day in the hopyard, I got an overwhelming felt sense that all my relations included the rocks and the rivers, the stars and planets, the dirt underneath my feet, the skies and the clouds. I was, in fact, awestruck. Still am.”

Meanwhile as astronauts contemplated our place in the universe and spoke out loud of God, President Trump took aim at Pope Leo. Imagine a follower of Christ having the gall to criticize war! Trump also retaliated with an AI image of him raising someone from the dead. And he defended his sacrilegious post as him as a doctor! The first woman Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mulally quickly joined Pope Leo and asked world leaders to stand for peace.

Could this be the beginning of a new kind of rupture?

I lean into hope.

This week is also the dreadful anniversary of the largest mass killing in Canadian history—the 2020 killings in Portapique, Nova Scotia.

The government boasts it will hire 1,000 more RCMP officers. While the Mass Casualty Commission, established to fully investigate how the killer was allowed to run loose over 13 hours, killing people across a vast area, recommended increasing training for RCMP to a three-year degree programme, the RCMP plans to REDUCE training requirements to fewer months, not years, to bring on more officers faster.

This is my exchange with the Minister of Justice from earlier this week.

I will keep repeating that Globe and Mail editorial:

“Canada’s national police force needs to be torn down to its foundations and then those foundations need to be dynamited.”

I held a press scrum this week, touching on climate science and the threat of the collapse of the Gulf Stream, as well as on the meaning of the new Liberal majority. Here it is.

And here is my attempt in Question Period to understand the cuts to science funding.

In fact, the prime minister has not yet met, even once, with his Chief Science advisor.

Still, we must live in hope.

It is spring and glorious. Embrace those moments of awe. Breathe in gratitude.

Love
Elizabeth

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“In this powerful and wide-ranging conversation, Elizabeth May, MP for Saanich–Gulf Islands, joins John Juricic & John Treleaven to unpack one of the most pressing issues facing Canadian businesses today: global instability and trade disruption. From tariffs and defense spending to Canada’s economic sovereignty, Elizabeth offers a candid and deeply informed perspective on how Canadian businesses—especially on Vancouver Island—can position themselves for success. Key themes include:

• Why “Canada First” economic thinking matters now more than ever
• The risks of chasing defense spending vs. building long-term value
• Trade diversification strategies beyond the U.S.
• The role of relationships in global trade success
• Opportunities in tourism, marine, manufacturing, and innovation sectors

Most importantly, this conversation delivers a clear message: 👉 Canadian businesses must lean into their strengths, build global relationships, and lead with confidence. 📩 Elizabeth May emphasizes that her office is open to supporting local businesses—don’t hesitate to reach out – Elizabeth.May.C1@parl.gc.ca”

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The who Liberals gathered this weekend in Montreal have been in a triumphant mood. They are buoyed by floor crossings, including the most recent by Sarnia Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu. I know Marilyn well. As much media has mentioned, Marilyn is congenial. We have found places where we can agree. We both opposed Bill C-9, the Liberals’ new anti-hate bill—although we opposed it for different reasons. Along with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and others, I think it violates Charter rights of freedom of assembly and rights to protest. In debating me in the House on C-9, Marilyn said Liberal MPs said she belonged in jail for her views. She asked, did I agree? On that we agreed that she should not be in jail! For her to jump to that Liberal ship is jaw-dropping. After her support for the convoy and anti-climate action views, she was about the last Conservative I could imagine crossing the floor. It leaves me wondering if there is any MP too anti-Liberal that Mr. Carney would not welcome them with open arms? The whole episode brings new meaning to “big tent” party.

Meanwhile, I am troubled by how close the Liberals’ convention skates toward crossing the lines of Elections Canada rules. With three by-elections tomorrow, one in the Montreal riding of Terrebonne, it reminds me of when Elections Canada would not allow the Green Party to hold our long-planned 2008 convention in Pictou, Nova Scotia once Harper broke his fixed election date law and called for a general election. My riding was in Pictou County. What the Liberals are doing is not against elections law, but they controlled the date for the by-elections and the date for their convention, giving them a clear advantage in pre-vote publicity. I am so proud of the campaigns waged by the Green teams on the ground in Terrebonne, Scarborough Southwest, and University-Rosedale.

I continue to rage as Canada moves away from climate action.

In 2021, at Glasgow’s COP26, Mark Carney was the conquering hero. He was UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance and Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Climate Finance Advisor as he announced the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ). The commitment was astonishing. Not just billions of dollars for the transition from fossil fuels. Carney announced $37 trillion for the move to renewable energy. At COP26 Carney said, “This is the breakthrough in mainstreaming climate finance the world needs. I welcome the leadership of… global banks for their new commitments to net zero and for joining forces with GFANZ, the gold standard for net zero commitments in the financial sector. Most fundamentally, GFANZ will act as the strategic forum to ensure the financial system works together to broaden, deepen, and accelerate the transition to a net zero economy.”

Five years later, where is GFANZ? What of the leadership of global banks? And, if we follow the money, where is the $37 trillion??

In a word, “poof!” It all disappeared.

This from a January 2025 report (link below)

“In April, the GFANZ group the Net Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) dissolved after a series of members departed.

“GFANZ had attracted fanfare as well as suspicion early on, not only over the sincerity of big banks that bankroll the fossil fuel industry, but also about their ability to coalesce around varied net zero goals.”

So now I watch the skillful political moves of Mark Carney. Canada is marching backwards, away from climate action while in parliamentary debates, the prime minister and his energy minister celebrate that our fossil fuel production is at an all-time high. Unlike press releases, the build up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is real and largely irreversible. Knowing we are running out of time, I wonder at the cognitive dissonance of those who understand climate science and yet continue to act as though we have all the time in the world? Federally and provincially, whether under Alberta Premier Danielle Smith or BC Premier David Eby, or Doug Ford or NS’s Tim Houston, we are petrostates—committed to fossil fuels, even when the economics do not add up.

There is hope. While Canada moves to the bad guy column in the climate wars, many countries are still committed. Eighty five countries tried at last year’s COP30 to develop the road map to get off fossil fuels. Later this month, many of those governments will gather in Colombia for a conference to begin a global transition away from oil, gas and coal. The First International Conference on the Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels opens on April 28 in Colombia. I have seen nothing in our Canadian media about it, but here is an article to inspire hope. Mark Carney will not be attending.

None of us have the luxury of despair. We have the duty to hope, and work hard.

Please help boost the signatures to this very modest petition (below). It closes on April 29.

In the meantime, enjoy our Canadian spring and let’s hope against hope the coming season is not one of our climate nightmares.

With deep appreciation and lots of love.

Elizabeth

Petition to the Prime Minister
Whereas:

• We support our Federal Government’s efforts to make Canada an Energy Superpower and recognize that for many Canadians this means continuing to make major investments in oil and gas infrastructure, including pipelines;
• For Canadians committed to protecting our biosphere, becoming an energy superpower must also include abundant investment in renewables generation, transmission and storage technologies that will support our low Greenhouse Gas emission economy;
• For Canadians committed to protecting our biosphere, becoming an energy superpower cannot include any further investment in power generation through burning coal;
• Canada has some of the best renewable energy resources on Earth, many of which are underdeveloped; and
• A commitment to matching, dollar for dollar, any federal investment, use of tax-credits or financial support for the development of hydrocarbon-based infrastructure with funding for renewables-based infrastructure would catalyse development of our renewable energy resources.

We, the undersigned, Citizens of Canada, call upon the Prime Minister to

1. Provide a legislative foundation that supports our stated commitment to protect our shared environment as we develop energy infrastructure by ensuring that any federal investment, use of tax-credits or financial support for the development of hydrocarbon-based infrastructure, including carbon capture and storage infrastructure, be matched, dollar for dollar, by federal funding for renewables-based infrastructure; and
2. Enact legislation to end coal-fired power generation by 2035.

History

Closed for signature
April 29, 2026, at 11:43 a.m. (EDT)

https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-7114

thanks all!
xo Elizabeth

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