Jo-Ann Roberts

Jo-Ann Roberts (born 1956) is a Canadian politician and former journalist who served as the interim leader of the Green Party of Canada from November 4, 2019 to October 3, 2020, having been appointed upon Elizabeth May stepping down from the party's leadership role.[1]

Jo-Ann Roberts
Roberts in 2018
Leader of the Green Party
Interim
In office November 4, 2019 – October 3, 2020
Deputy	Daniel Green
Preceded by	Elizabeth May
Succeeded by	Annamie Paul
Deputy Leader of the Green Party
In office March 19, 2018 – November 4, 2019 Serving with Daniel Green
Leader	Elizabeth May
Preceded by	Bruce Hyer
Succeeded by	Daniel Green
Personal details
Born	1956 Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Political party	Green
Spouse(s)	Ken Kelly
Children	4
Residence	Halifax
Alma mater	Mount Allison University, Carleton University
Occupation	Politician

Roberts previously served as the party's deputy leader since March 2018 and was a broadcaster with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.[2][3] She has been a federal Green Party candidate twice in the past, running in Victoria in 2015 and in Halifax in 2019. She was appointed to be deputy leader of the party in 2018, serving alongside Daniel Green.[4]

Personal life

Roberts has a B.A. from Mount Allison University and a journalism degree from Carleton University.[5]

She is married to Ken Kelly, with whom she has four adult children.[6] She also has two grandchildren and cites the birth of her first grandchild as one of the forces which compelled her to move into politics in 2014. Roberts has claimed that she wanted to have an adequate answer if her granddaughter asked her what she had done to fight climate change.[7]

Political career

Roberts left her job at the CBC in 2014 to pursue a career in advocacy for public communication and the environment. She decided to run as a Green Party candidate in Victoria for the 2015 federal election campaign.[8] While she had been approached by other parties, she claimed that the Green Party platform was the one which most aligned with her beliefs.[9] She came second in 2015 with almost 24,000 votes, which is more votes than was received by 131 MPs who were elected.[10]

After the election, Roberts and her family moved back to her childhood hometown of Halifax. In 2018, she was appointed by Elizabeth May to serve as the deputy leader of the party, alongside Daniel Green. She ran as the Green Party candidate in Halifax in the 2019 federal election, finishing in third with 14% of the vote.[11]

On November 4, 2019, Elizabeth May announced that she would be stepping down as leader of the Green Party, effective immediately. She then named Roberts as the new interim leader.[12]

Roberts serves as host and producer for the Green Party podcast, People, Politics, and Planet.[13]

Electoral record

2019 Canadian federal election: Halifax
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Andy Fillmore	23,681	42.48	−9.25	$77,935.01
	New Democratic	Christine Saulnier	16,747	30.04	−6.09	$92,096.82
	Green	Jo-Ann Roberts	8,013	14.37	+11.08	$46,730.72
	Conservative	Bruce Holland	6,456	11.58	+2.97	none listed
	People's	Duncan McGenn	633	1.14	–	none listed
	Animal Protection	Bill Wilson	222	0.40	–	$2,719.51
Total valid votes/Expense limit			55,752	100.0		$102,876.75
Total rejected ballots			361	0.64	+0.15
Turnout			56,113	75.04	+0.36
Eligible voters			74,778
Source: Elections Canada[14]

2015 Canadian federal election: Victoria
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Murray Rankin	30,397	42.28	-8.50	$222,151.95
	Green	Jo-Ann Roberts	23,666	32.92	+21.31	$147,733.88
	Liberal	Cheryl Thomas[15]	8,489	11.81	-2.18	$36,199.72
	Conservative	John Rizzuti	8,480	11.79	-11.83	$72,891.79
	Libertarian	Art Lowe	539	0.75	+0.26	$900.00
	Animal Alliance	Jordan Reichert	200	0.28	–	$10,110.17
	Independent	Saul Andersen	124	0.17	–	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			71,895	100.00		$234,268.29
Total rejected ballots			241	0.33
Turnout			72,136	77.92
Eligible voters			92,574
	New Democratic hold		Swing		-14.90
Source: Elections Canada[16][17]

References

1. Aiello, Rachel (4 November 2019). "Elizabeth May steps down as Green Party leader". CTV News. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
2. "Elizabeth May steps down as leader of Green Party". Global News. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
3. Smith, Emma (10 November 2019). "Green Party's new interim leader focused on prepping for the next election". CBC News. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
4. "Jo-Ann Roberts". Green Party of Canada. Green Party of Canada. Archived from the original on 7 May 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
5. "Mount Allison University | Record | Meet the 2019 Alumni Award Winners". www.mta.ca. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
6. Knox, Jack. "Jack Knox: Why a prominent Victoria couple is leaving for Halifax". Times Colonist. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
7. "What you need to know about Jo-Ann Roberts, the Green Party's interim leader | CTV News". www.ctvnews.ca. 4 November 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
8. "Former CBC Host Jo-Ann Roberts Seeks Federal Green Party Nom. in Victoria". Puget Sound Radio. 25 January 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
9. Pammett, Jon H.; Dornan, Christopher (11 June 2016). The Canadian Federal Election of 2015. Dundurn. ISBN 978-1-4597-3335-0.
10. "About Elizabeth". Elect Jo-Ann Roberts. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
11. "May's out. Now what?". The Signal. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
12. Neatby, Andrea Gunn, Stu. "Canadian Green Leader Elizabeth May steps down, Halifax candidate Jo-Ann Roberts named interim leader | The Guardian". www.theguardian.pe.ca. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
13. "People, Politics and Planet Podcast". Green Party of Canada. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
14. "Results Validated by the Returning Officer". Elections Canada. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
15. "Liberal candidate Cheryl Thomas resigns over Facebook comments". CBC News. CBC News. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
16. Canada, Elections. "Voter Information Service - Find your electoral district". www.elections.ca.
17. Canada, Elections. "Final Candidates Election Expenses Limits". www.elections.ca.