Yellowknife’s Howard third in Green Party leadership contest

Yellowknife doctor Courtney Howard placed third in the federal Green Party leadership contest as Annamie Paul won.

Candidates had to reach 11,939 votes to win election in a series of ranked ballots. Paul received a little more than 12,000 in the final round, officials said in the contest’s live-streamed climax.

Howard was eliminated in the seventh and penultimate round. Dimitri Lascaris was the runner-up.

The results were made public in an announcement beginning shortly before 5:50pm MT, around 45 minutes later than scheduled.

You inspired millions— and you’ve given me and tons of others confidence to keep going. It was a pleasure to hang out with you. Looking forward to further mischiefs. ❄️🌲@courtghoward pic.twitter.com/IGwOmJreNZ— William Gagnon (@wgagnon) October 3, 2020

Activist and lawyer Paul, 47, becomes the first elected Black leader and first female Jewish leader of a major Canadian federal party.

“We believe in the future of the Green Party and we laid it on the line, I know that we all did,” Paul told her rivals in the contest, saying: “There is a role for them in the Green Party of Canada.”

Howard tweeted: “Incredible race by an intelligent, strong woman. The first Black woman to lead a political party in Canada. I am proud.”

The eight candidates in the running were Howard, Paul, Lascaris, Meryam Haddad, Amita Kuttner, David Merner, Glen Murray, and Andrew West.