Re-elected Green Party Leader Elizabeth May is considering running for Speaker of the House in the upcoming Parliament. She also entertained joining the Liberal cabinet.

May told CTV News yesterday that she is open to many things, though they are “unlikely” and “hypothetical”.

May laughed when asked about her openness to join the federal Cabinet, noting she would not cross the floor to join the Liberal Party.

CBC floats the idea that Elizabeth May might end up as the next Speaker of the House of Commons. pic.twitter.com/BqET16jyzp

— Stephen Taylor (@stephen_taylor) April 29, 2025

According to House of Commons procedure, electing a Speaker of the House is the first step of a new parliamentary session, second only to the swearing in of MPs. 

The House of Commons Speaker's duties include impartially presiding over House proceedings, maintaining order, and interpreting parliamentary rules, extending beyond their most visible role.

“I am passionately committed to Parliament working well and to respectful discourse,” said May, who often puts her name forward for Speaker without campaigning.

“I have concerns about how far the Canadian Parliament and the role of the Canadian Speaker have departed from our rules and our traditions,” she added.

The Green MP acknowledged that the previous Speaker, Liberal Greg Fergus, elected in 2015 and re-elected Monday night, had been diligently working in his role since late 2023.

The Speaker of the House must be nonpartisan, ceasing caucus participation after election. They do not debate and only vote to break ties.

A co-leader of the Green Party calls the Leaders' Debate Commission's decision to remove them from tonight's federal leaders' debate "undemocratic" and demands to be allowed in. pic.twitter.com/FFnLtOXXnT

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) April 16, 2025

The Green Party recently admitted in a Federal Court application that they withdrew some candidates to prevent splitting the progressive vote, related to their protest of debate disqualification.

“A small number of candidates, no more than 15, decided to withdraw their candidacy to avoid splitting the progressive vote,” Green Party lawyers wrote the Court. “All of these challenges had grave and unintended impacts on the number of successfully nominated Green Party candidates to the detriment of the Green Party.”

Parties needed 308 candidates to join the debates, according to the Leaders’ Debates Commission. The Greens initially claimed 340 nominations, but only 232 were registered by the April 7 Elections Canada deadline.

The Green Party is challenging its disqualification from televised debates on April 16 and 17, arguing that the Commission was “unreasonable” in claiming that the party “intentionally and deliberately” withdrew candidates.

Elizabeth May slams the Leaders' Debates Commission's decision to remove the Green Party from the leaders' debates.

May demands they allow the Green Party co-leader to participate and says he's going to take the stage despite the decision. pic.twitter.com/LPAwa8MWkF

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) April 16, 2025

May was in disbelief that Greens were excluded from televised debates for the first time in 10 years. “This decision is clearly anti-democratic.” No statement of defence has been filed as of writing.

The Commission is currently without a Commissioner, with Michel Cormier, the highest-ranking staff member, fulfilling the role in the interim.

“We thus wonder who is making the final decisions, who is ultimately responsible? Is it the Advisory Board? Is it Mr. Cormier? Who should be held accountable? What is the Commission’s appeal mechanism?” reads an April 18 statement from the Green Party of Canada.

“The Commission is rapidly losing all credibility as an institution that promotes democracy and fairness,” a Party spokesperson said. “Canadians deserve answers.”

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