Green Party co-leader Elizabeth May swapped speeches for songs on election night, delivering on all the good vibes when she performed a duet with her husband, John Kidder, on stage at the party’s headquarters.
While now-Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered a passionate speech focused on Canada’s relationship with the United States and Leader of the Opposition Pierre Poilievre vowed to “continue fighting” for Canadians, May opted for a slightly more casual tone.
Taking to the stage shortly after decisively winning her seat in the riding of Saanich–Gulf Islands, the 70-year-old joked, “This is not what it looks like.”
According to CBC News, May acknowledged a projected Liberal win but chose not to speak on the results until they were finalized. Instead, she performed a duet with her guitarist husband.
“This is not me giving you a speech or talking about the election,” she continued before joking that she and Kidder were simply “the warm-up act” ahead of a lineup of “real musicians” set to perform later.
Before launching into their song, May sang, “We figured, you know, it’s my party, I can sing if I want to” — a reference to Drake’s “Take Care.”
Holding what appears to be the song lyrics in her hand, May and Kidder went on to do their own rendition of “On the Sunny Side of the Street” by Billie Holiday.
The charming scene was just a little reminiscent of The Office’s Michael Scott. Just a little.
Earlier in the evening, it was confirmed that May would retain her seat in Saanich–Gulf Islands — a seat she has held since 2011.
“The reason we were successful here was the devotion and commitment of volunteers,” May said during her own victory speech, per CBC News.
Despite the Greens’ overall disappointing performance — with projections showing the party losing its only other seat in the House of Commons — May appeared upbeat.
She noted her own re-election as an opposition leader, contrasting it with the projected defeats of both the NDP’s Jagmeet Singh and the Conservatives’ Pierre Poilievre.
Singh conceded his Burnaby Central seat and resigned as NDP leader, while Poilievre is also projected to lose his Carleton seat as of Tuesday morning.
The party’s other co-leader, Jonathan Pedneault, finished third in Outremont, Quebec. May said Pedneault’s chances were impacted after the Green Party was pulled from the Quebec leaders’ debate.
The Greens’ national vote share dropped to around 1.2%, down from 2.33% in the 2021 election.
Still, May closed her speech with a defiant note, telling supporters, “We are here … we are not going away.”
You can read more about the projected results, Mark Carney’s dramatic victory speech, Jagmeet Singh’s resignation as party leader, and more, at Narcity’s election hub.
