Annamie Paul

“Any Green that is elected to Parliament is someone that you can count on, absolutely, to be a climate champion, to work concretely across party lines on this non-partisan issue, which is how we are going to reduce global warming.”

“I was definitely one of those kids who, for whatever reason, followed politics and public policy.”

“If you have a diversity of views at the table, you're much more likely to avoid pitfalls.”

“My grandmother worked as a front-line service worker in the hospitals of Toronto Centre and broke her back doing it in the process.”

“It's very important to match a party and to match leadership to a moment.”

“My children are grown... my husband is an international human rights lawyer and all of his work is outside of Canada. So, I have bags, will travel.”

“Collaboration and collegiality does not mean bowing down. It doesn't mean being brought to heel.”

“But I would not have been the leader that I hoped to be if I hadn't put my name forward to represent this community. You have to be daring.”

“A small group of councillors sought to force a vote of no-confidence in my leadership. They did so with no substantive consultation with the members they represent.”

“Every single person who is a member of our party deserves to have certainty. They deserve to know that my attention and focus is where it belongs.”

“We cannot abandon those who helped us - the personnel who helped us and aided our efforts when we were in Afghanistan.”

“I'm not taking anything for granted at all.”

“There seems to be this perception that there was some seat waiting out there for me, that Greens were absolutely guaranteed to win - and there wasn't.”

“I'm going to try to live up to what I know the expectations will be for me.”

“My son was born between my first and year of graduate studies.”

“There are differences of opinion that come up naturally within parties. And certainly Israel and Palestine is one that has demonstrated the differences of opinion.”

“The Green Party has the most progressive platform and policies related to issues of social and racial justice.”

“The anti-Semitism was not easy, and it still isn't. You never really get used to it. You're aware it's out there but you're never fully prepared for it.”

“Politics still remains a very hostile, unwelcoming place for diverse peoples. It's the reason that we have so few of them in politics.”

“Canada's only becoming more diverse. And that still isn't sufficiently reflected in our in our political culture.”