Donning a bright green cardigan, Elizabeth May dropped by the University of Saskatchewan on Sept. 6, greeting students in the Bowl and following up with a talk in the Arts Building.

She has been commander-in-chief of the Green Party since 2006 and this year joined the ranks in Ottawa as the first Green elected to Parliament.

May said she came to boost support for the Greens before the provincial election on Nov. 7, but just hours before her visit, Saskatchewan Green Party leader Larissa Shasko announced her resignation.

Soon after, May got on Twitter welcoming Victor Lau, who evidently will be taking over the provincial Greens.

Lau is running for provincial office in the Regina Douglas Park electoral district.

Shasko told reporters she stands behind the party’s principles but has chosen to support Regina South NDP candidate Yens Pederson.

May speaks regularly about the decentralized nature of the Greens and the independence it gives its candidates, which is precisely one of the reasons Shasko cites for walking away from her role.

“It’s a grassroots party, very much growing, where many people make decisions and yet I end up at the end of the day with the ultimate responsibility,” Shasko said.

In 2007, the Saskatchewan Green Party failed to win a single seat.

—
photo: Daryl Hofmann