Elizabeth May
A relentless political force who transformed Canada's Green Party from a fringe movement into a parliamentary presence with a conscience.
Born 1954 (age 72)·Canadian politician·Birthday: June 9·Baby Boomers
Biography
Elizabeth May's path to Parliament Hill was anything but conventional. Born in Connecticut, she moved to Nova Scotia as a child, where her early confrontation with aerial insecticide spraying ignited a lifelong environmental crusade. After studying law, she became a fierce advocate, leading the Sierra Club of Canada and authoring books that framed ecological issues as moral imperatives. Her 2011 election victory in Saanich–Gulf Islands was a seismic event, breaking the Green Party's long exclusion from the House of Commons. In the chamber, she became known for a formidable work ethic, mastering complex dossiers and delivering passionate, principled arguments that often shamed the larger parties. Her leadership, marked by two separate tenures, built a small but disciplined caucus and permanently etched climate urgency into the core of Canadian political debate.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Elizabeth was born in 1954, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Elizabeth Was Born
The biggest hits of 1954
#1 Movie
White Christmas
Best Picture
On the Waterfront
#1 TV Show
I Love Lucy
Elizabeth's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1954Born
Brown v. Board of Education desegregates US schools
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $8,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Little Things Mean a Lot" — Kitty KallenBest Picture: On the Waterfront
1959Started school
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1967Became a teenager
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1970Could drive
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1972Could vote
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1975Turned 21
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1984Turned 30
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1994Turned 40
Nelson Mandela elected president of South Africa
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $90,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"The Sign" — Ace of BaseBest Picture: Forrest Gump
2004Turned 50
Indian Ocean tsunami kills over 230,000
Gas: $1.88/galHome: $157,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Yeah!" — UsherBest Picture: Million Dollar Baby
2014Turned 60
Russia annexes Crimea; Ebola outbreak in West Africa
Gas: $3.37/galHome: $160,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Happy" — Pharrell WilliamsBest Picture: Birdman
2024Turned 70
AI reshapes industries; Paris Olympics
Gas: $3.31/galHome: $372,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Espresso" — Sabrina CarpenterBest Picture: Anora
2026Age 72 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Became the first elected Green Party Member of Parliament in Canadian history in 2011.
- Authored or co-authored over ten books on climate policy and activism, including 'Losing Confidence'.
- Led the Sierra Club of Canada from 1989 to 2006, significantly raising its public profile.
- Steered the Green Party to win a record three federal seats following the 2019 election.
Did You Know?
She was admitted to the bar in both Nova Scotia and Ontario.
May was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2020.
She once undertook a 17-day hunger strike to protest changes to Canadian environmental laws.
Her daughter, Victoria Cate May Burton, worked as her campaign manager.
“We need to stop thinking of the environment as a separate issue from the economy, from social justice, from health.”
