While the 2025 federal election brought significant change, one seat remains unchanged: Elizabeth May will, once again be the face of the Green Party in Ottawa.
May has once again won in Saanich-Gulf Islands, a riding she has represented since 2011. This time she will be her party's sole voice in Parliament.
May had garnered 38.8% of the vote, followed by Liberal David Beckham at 31.8%), Conservative Cathie Ounsted at 19,343 (25.4%) and the NDP's Colin Plant with 3,020 votes.
While speaking to the media after her win, May said she wasn't surprised by the results and is excited to return to work in Ottawa.
"I'm very pleased that we're going to play a role in a minority parliament. In a majority situation, we'd have much less chance to make a difference," she said. "And when we say elbows up, we also have to mean that we're working together, not elbows up against each other. We have to pull together as a country now more than ever."
May was the only Green Party member to win election Monday night, including party co-leader Jonathan Pedneault, who was defeated in his riding of Outremont.
"That part's really bittersweet, but it looks like we'll go back to the House of Commons with a minority where we can make a difference with me as a leader of the Green Party, with a prime minister I've known for a few decades. And we started off nicely tonight."
Green Party volunteer Jim Hesser said he was pleased with the outcome.
"We’ve heard time and time again about how much [May's] constituents love her and appreciate how hard she’s worked. Many of them were very torn on this particular complex election, so I couldn’t be happier the way things have turned out.”
