Annamie Paul is known for being first. She is the first Black person and the first Jewish woman to lead a national federal party. Now, she wants to continue that streak and become the first Green party leader to form government.
On Oct. 3, Paul was elected as the new leader of the federal Green Party, drawing the attention of many Canadians—especially younger generations—to a new face in Canadian politics.
Although Paul spent the majority of her career in international affairs, she took an interest in domestic politics from a young age, volunteering with her mother for her local MP and serving as a page in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
“I believed, and continue to believe that government has an important role to play,” Paul said in an interview with the Charlatan. “That’s something that I feel like I learned in my childhood that has stuck with me.”
It was this belief that brought her back to Canada to work in partisan politics after years working abroad. Paul said that collective action is needed to address big issues and challenges like the climate crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think all of us are coming to remember again, why exactly government is a good thing,” Paul said. “When the chips are down, it’s still the first place people turn to for help and protection.”
Increasing diversity within the Green Party was a common topic during the leadership race to replace former party leader Elizabeth May. In the 2019 election, the Green Party ran the least racially diverse slate of candidates in the race, which was something Paul actively campaigned on working to change.
Gabriel Trozzi Stamou is a 15-year old member of the Young Greens, a group representing all members of the Green Party of Canada between 14-30 years. She said they’re excited by the diversity Paul brings to Canadian politics.
“On her teams […] it’s always a diverse group, whether that be racially or age-wise, she knows how to make sure that she’s getting everyone’s opinion to make her decisions,” Stamou said.
Other Young Greens echoed this sentiment as well. Victoria Galea, 25, who serves as the Ontario representative on the Young Greens Council, said she believes Paul will amplify youth representation in politics.
“She doesn’t tokenize youth and just put them in a category, she integrates them into everything she does,” Galea said. “[The volunteers] are very diverse but they’re not just in a tokenized section of the campaign. They take on significant positions within the campaign.”
Paul said she rejects the idea that young people are not politically active, encouraging young people to join the party, run as candidates and serve as staff in the party.
“The way to get [young people] engaged in politics and voting is to just allow them to be the leaders that we know them to be,” Paul said.
“Young people are focusing their efforts on the areas where they’re actually able to lead,” she added. “You’re not going to be excited by [a system] where you don’t see yourself reflected.”
Kayne Caleb Alleyne-Adams, a first-year student at York University, said he likes Paul’s ability to take strong stances on issues and separate herself from party politics.
“I think that Annamie really represents what youth want to see in politics, which is not being partisan political but instead, being representative, being loud … and being calm and collected and able to have conversations across party lines,” Alleyne-Adams said.
On Oct. 26, Paul ran in a Toronto Centre byelection, held in an attempt to gain a seat in the House of Commons early after the seat became available when former finance minister Bill Morneau resigned earlier this year. However, she finished second with 32.7 per cent of the vote, compared to the Liberal candidate Marci Ien’s 42 per cent – losing her bid to enter the House of Commons at this time.
Despite the byelection loss, Paul continues to be hopeful about the Green Party’s future in federal politics, extending an invitation to those who don’t see themselves represented in politics to join the party.
“They’ll definitely have a home with us,” Paul said.
Featured Graphic by Etta Gerrits.
