With federal Green Party leader Elizabeth May announcing she will be letting go of the reins as party leader, a former Kitchener-Centre MP is beginning to weigh his options, looking ahead.
Mike Morrice previously held the seat for Kitchener-Centre as a Green Party member from 2021 to 2025, but was not able to retain his position through the recent election, losing to Conservative Party member Kelly DeRidder.
Now, with questions beginning to rise around the future of the federal Green Party, Morrice has begun to reflect on his time with May over the years and the relationship that formed between them.
“What it allowed for me is, when I walked in, folks were more interested in working with me because they knew about her approach over the last so many years,” Morrice said. “By differentiating herself as someone who was focused on working towards finding solutions to issues and making progress for folks in her community and Canadians across the country, rather than just looking to score a political point, I think it served her well.”
Morrice mentioned that he, his colleagues, and the voters throughout the country all saw her more for her human side, one that she was always willing to push for her beliefs, rather than just as a politician.
“She’d start speaking and I was hearing it for the first time because I knew that each time, whether it was in a private meeting, she and I, or in front of the media, she’d be speaking from the heart.”
With the recent announcement creating plenty of stir around what the future of the federal Green Party could look like going forward, Morrice said that, as the only other Green MP heading into the recent election, he fully knows that his own name will also start making the rounds.
“The question for me is really about whether I’ll be running again to serve as MP for Kitchener-Centre,” Morrice stated. “Serving our community is my primary focus, but I think in both cases, it’s something I’m giving consideration to.”
Morrice said he has a lot of priorities still on the go, including his ongoing push for better rights for those living with disabilities, as well as his newborn daughter.
“My focus right now is on thanking folks in the last campaign, continuing to serve our community, showing up in our community, and focusing on family for now,” Morrice said. “It’s not something I’ve ruled out in terms of running for leadership one day, but it’s also not something that is on the kind of short-term horizon.”
Even though his future position within the party remains with questions of its own, Morrice mentioned that he has already been able to help with the ongoing process to decide on a new leader.
“I have appreciated giving my inputs to the federal council,” Morrice mentioned. “I’m not a voting member of that body. Those are folks who are elected across the country by Green Party members, and they are now tasked with working alongside Elizabeth to follow through on her intention.”
The Green Party finished the last election with close to 240,000 votes, but still lost a seat as Morrice was unable to capture his riding. As of now, May acts as the lone representative in parliament.
With still over three years before another election is expected, currently slated for 2029, there’s still plenty of time ahead to figure out what the next chapter of the Green Party has in store.
