Outgoing Green Party leader Elizabeth May has often been treated as the darling of the mainstream media, who are quick to overlook some of her past beliefs and controversies.
Since becoming the first Green Party MP and eventually the leader of the party, May has made numerous statements ranging from the ridiculous to the conspiratorial.
Here are the top ten craziest things former Green Party leader Elizabeth May has said or done:
1. Praising convicted war criminal Omar Khadr at a press gallery
In 2015, Elizabeth May had to be escorted off the stage by former Conservative MP Lisa Raitt after giving a profanity-filled speech praising Omar Khadr and belittling her colleagues.
“Omar Khadr, you’ve got more class than the whole f*******g cabinet,” said May at the end of her rambling speech.
Khadr, who was a known member of Al-Qaeda, pleaded guilty in a U.S. court of murdering U.S. Army Sergeant Christopher Speer. In 2017, prime minister Justin Trudeau awarded Kahdr over $10 million in a settlement to avoid a legal battle with the convicted war criminal.
Instead of taking responsibility for her remarks, May blamed it on the flu and a long workday.
2. May said Stephen Harper’s environmental policy was worse than appeasing the Nazis
In 2007, May told a church congregation that Harper’s position on climate change was “a grievance worse than Neville Chamberlain’s appeasement of the Nazis.”
Despite unanimous agreement that May should have withdrawn her comments, she insisted on defending them and said she was borrowing the quote from an author. She then went on to blame the Conservatives for ruining Canada’s international reputation.
3. May was the only MP to vote against a bill that banned child rapists from being near their victim’s homes
In 2013, Elizabeth May was the only Member of Parliament to vote “no” on Bill C-489 which barred child sex offenders from being within two kilometres of a victim’s home.
“This enactment amends section 161 of the Criminal Code to require a court to consider making an order prohibiting certain offenders from being within two kilometres, or any other distance specified in the order, of any dwelling-house where the victim identified in the order resides or of any other place specified in the order,” wrote the bill.
The house voted unanimously to pass the bill, except for the Green Party leader.
4. She once said that “most Canadians are stupid”
In a TVO television program, Elizabeth May was asked why there’s so little political will to implement a carbon tax and she replied by saying it’s because “most Canadians are stupid.”
“All politicians are scared to death to mention the word tax and they think Canadians are stupid, and I fundamentally agree with that assessment,” said May.
When pressed on her comments, May blamed the slip up on “talking too fast” and that another panelist had said it also.
5. Used Twitter to promote conspiracies
Over the years, Elizabeth May has used several hashtags pandering to anti-vaxxers and chemtrail conspiracy enthusiasts.
In one tweet from 2011, May referred to the chemtrail conspiracy, which is the belief that the government is using plane emissions to spread chemicals onto the unwitting population. She also referenced the U.S. HAARP program, which conspiracy theorists believe is being used to manipulate the weather.
A later tweet from 2013 also referenced chemtrails and seemed to promote the discredited anti-vaccination myth that vaccines lead to autism in children.
6. Said that Harper was turning Canada into “North Korea”
In 2013, Elizabeth May took to Twitter once again to criticize Stephen Harper’s decision to withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol by saying that he was turning Canada into “North Korea.”
“So upset Harper pulled us out of another global env treaty. He’s making us a rogue nation. The North Korea of environmental law,” tweeted May.
Harper’s decision to leave the Kyoto Protocol was made in order to save the country from approximately $14 billion in international penalties the agreement would have caused.
7. Suggested that Canada should erect a monument for “victims of capitalism”
When the Harper government floated the idea of a plan to fund a monument to honour the victims of communism, Elizabeth May got into a Twitter fight with then Conservative MP Jason Kenney by suggesting a similar monument should be raised to the “victims of capitalism.”
“No mention of monument to victims of capitalism. :),” wrote May on Twitter.
“Perhaps that’s because no one was shot in the back while risking their lives to flee eastward over the Iron Curtain,” replied Kenney.
Estimates show that communism has killed approximately 100 million people by way of starvation, mass killings and other authoritarian measures.
8. Presented a 9/11 truther conspiracy petition in the House of Commons
Elizabeth may presented a petition to call on the Canadian government to review the September 11 terror attacks. The petition was put forward by the conspiracy group ReThink 911 which promotes the myth that the attacks were the result of a controlled demolition and the U.S. government was involved in a cover-up.
When confronted about why she decided to promote the petition, May falsely suggested that she was required by law to present all petitions put forward to her. However, the House of Commons Procedure and Practice makes it clear that “members are not bound to present petitions and cannot be compelled to do so.”
9. Suggested that the election of Harper made people want to cut their wrists
In a 2007 profile of Elizabeth May by the Ottawa Citizen, she said that when Harper was elected it made people want to tear their hair out and cut their wrists.
“The election of Stephen Harper changed my life because I saw I was going to lose 20 years of my life’s work… You’ve got a right-wing agenda that’s anti-environmental to an extent we’ve never seen. You’re going to spend all of your time tearing your hair out and wanting to slit your wrists. So you might as well get into politics,” said May.
10. Said that wireless internet was leading to the “disappearance of pollinating insects”
In an article about Elizabeth May’s “war against WiFi,” the Green Party leader blamed wireless internet for the “disappearance of pollinating insects.”
Despite providing no proof for her claims, May cited the scientific soundness of her claims saying, “I do not act without scientific info.”
