Elizabeth May to remain on as Green Party leader

Elizabeth May will remain in her job as Green Party leader, she announced on Monday morning in Ottawa.

May addressed reporters at the National Press Theatre, confirming that she had spent the past week contemplating her future during her summer holidays.

“I want to thank everyone across Canada who has written me,” she said. “I was overwhelmed to read so many letters of support … it appears I am much loved. It’s surprising to find sometimes.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I want to thank everyone across Canada who has written me," she said. "I was overwhelmed to read so many letters of support … it appears I am much loved. It's surprising to find sometimes."

May found herself squarely at odds with her party two weeks ago when the Greens voted to officially support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS) targeting Israel. May called the movement — which calls for the economic isolation of Israel — divisive and ineffective, saying she would personally continue to oppose it.

On Monday, she said she attended a late-night meeting with the party’s federal council. They passed a series of motions giving her full support, May said, and set a path forward to deal with some of the conflict between her and the membership.

A special meeting of members will be held to re-examine some of the policies that were voted on at the recent convention, she added, with a commitment to “consensus based” decision-making.

May said the “winner-take-all” voting model used at the convention was not in line with the Green Party’s past approach to finding consensus on issues.

The BDS motion is not the only motion that will be re-examined.

“The reasons for staying are far more compelling,” May said. “There’s good will on all sides.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The reasons for staying are far more compelling," May said. "There's good will on all sides."

May has been leader of the Greens since 2006 and remains the party’s only sitting MP in the House of Commons. She will continue to sit on Parliament’s electoral reform committee, something she said will remain her top priority over the next several months.

READ MORE: Elizabeth May contemplating her future as Green Party leader

If May had stepped down, it would have left every party except the governing Liberals without a permanent leader. The Conservatives are currently being led by Rona Ambrose on an interim basis until a new leader can be selected at the end of May 2017. Their first leadership debate is set for November.

The NDP, meanwhile, are still being led by Tom Mulcair until they can elect a new chief in September 2017.

The Bloc Québécois is being led on an interim basis by Rhéal Fortin until sometime in 2017.