Elizabeth May has stepped down as leader of the Green Party of Canada.
The MP for Saanich-Gulf islands will stay on as caucus leader in the House of Commons.
In 2011, May became the first Green Party member to be elected to parliament.
She says she wants to spend more time with her family and now was the right time to make the move.
“I want to make sure that when I leave as leader of the Green Party of Canada we’ve got momentum, we’ve got growth, we’ve got exciting leadership, and I know we will have all of these.”
May brought the number of Green MPs to three in the last election as she is joined by Paul Manly from BC and the first Atlantic Green MP in Jenica Atwin of Fredricton.
Halifax’s Jo-Ann Roberts will be acting leader until the party holds a vote in PEI in 2020.