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On Aug. 7 in Ottawa, delegates at the Green Party of Canada’s federal convention voted overwhelmingly to endorse boycott, divestment and sanctions against the sectors of the Israeli economy that benefit from the occupation of Palestinian territories.
The result of this pristine exercise in grassroots democracy did not sit well with party leader Elizabeth May, who began criticizing her own party after the convention, referring to the individuals who submitted the BDS resolution as “one-issue people” and linking the international civil society movement to perceived anti-Semitism. She went as far as threatening to step down if the vote was not overturned by the party executive at their next meeting before leaving on a week-long vacation.
As leader of the Greens in Quebec, the only ecosocialist Green Party in Canada, and someone who has watched the federal party from a distance for many years, I was unfortunately not surprised to see May speaking against the policy and attempting to marginalize those who support it. Over the years, Elizabeth May has pushed the Green Party of Canada closer and closer to the centre of Canadian politics. Her policies are a far cry from what her U.S. counterpart Dr. Jill Stein has been advocating for in that country’s presidential campaign.
