Former MP Mike Morrice only candidate for Green Party of Canada leadership after Nira Dookeran withdraws

Former MP Mike Morrice only candidate for Green Party of Canada leadership after Nira Dookeran withdraws

'We, as a party, have a big job ahead of us,' Nira Dookeran wrote in statement

There is just one person now running for the leadership of the Green Party of Canada after Nira Dookeran of Ottawa withdrew from the race on Tuesday.

The lone candidate is now former MP Mike Morrice of Kitchener, Ont.

In a statement posted to the party's website, Dookeran said she made the decision to drop out of the leadership race "for personal and family reasons" and "after much soul-searching."

"I want to express my best wishes to Mike Morrice, my fellow candidate in the leadership contest. We, as a party, have a big job ahead of us," she wrote.

"What I have learned over the last 12 years as an active member of the [party], and seen especially up-close-and-personal in the last 12 weeks of campaigning, is how much talent, skill, experience, initiative, and dedication to the Green cause there is on the ground across the country."

The Green Party of Canada thanked Dookeran for putting her name forward and "for the time, energy and commitment she brought to the leadership race."

In a statement Tuesday evening, Morrice said he had spoken to Dookeran and also thanked her.

"As we wait to hear from the party about the logistics of what comes next, our campaign continues as before, because the work continues as before: to grow the party, and in doing so, help build the movement needed to take on the billionaire class and fight for regular Canadians in the face of a worsening climate crisis," Morrice said.

Mike Morrice joins the race for party leadership

The Green Party of Canada officially launched its five-month leadership race on June 11.

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May announced in the summer of 2025 she planned to step down but will remain on as leader until November.

May is currently the only Green MP in the House of Commons. She was first elected leader of the Green Party in 2006. She stepped down in 2009 and Annamie Paul was elected as the new leader in 2020. May became the co-party leader again in 2022 with co-lead Jonathan Pedneault.

Pedneault resigned in April 2025 after not securing a seat in a 2023 byelection or the federal election.

Dookeran was a provincial Green candidate in 2022 and has volunteered with the Ontario Green Party for more than 10 years, managing federal and provincial campaigns.

Morrice served for one term as the MP for the Ontario riding of Kitchener Centre but lost his seat in the April 2025 federal election. Conservative Kelly DeRidder beat Morrice by 358 votes.

On November 28, 2025, Morrice was named deputy leader of the federal Greens and has already been declared the Green candidate for the next federal election, whenever it will be held.

It's unclear what happens next. On its website, the party says further information about the leadership race "will be shared as it becomes available."

Voting for the next Green Party of Canada leader has been scheduled to take place from Nov. 2 to 13 with results expected to be announced on Nov. 14.

Kate is the producer for CBC Kitchener-Waterloo. She has been covering issues in southern Ontario for more than 20 years. Reach her by email: kate.bueckert@cbc.ca.