Joan Russow

Joan Elizabeth Russow is a former leader of the Green Party of Canada and current member of the New Democratic Party of Canada.

Russow joined the Greens in 1993 and became leader in 1997 beating out two other candidates. She has a Master’s degree in Education and a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies and is a co-founder of the Ecological Rights Association and the Global Compliance Research Society.

She ran for a seat in the House of Commons in the 1997 and 2000 federal elections in the riding of Victoria, British Columbia as well as in a by-election in September 2000 against Stockwell Day.

Russow resigned as leader in 2001 under emense pressure from the membership. Many were disturbed by her autocratic, top down approach to policy and platform development. She joined the New Democratic Party in 2003 after Jack Layton was elected leader due to a belief that the NDP had been revitalised under his leadership. She was also disilliusioned by the perceived rightward drift of the Green Party under her successor, Jim Harris, a management consultant and eco-capitalist.