Annamie Paul was born on November 3,1972 and is a Canadian activist, lawyer, and former politician who served as the leader of the Green Party of Canada from 2020 to 2021.
29 Facts About Annamie Paul
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Annamie Paul was the first Black Canadian and first Jewish woman to be elected leader of a federal party in Canada.
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On September 27,2021, Annamie Paul began the process of resignation as party leader, and she ceased being party leader by November 14.
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Annamie Paul started her involvement with politics early, working as a page in the Ontario Legislature at age 12, and later as a page at the Canadian Senate, and as a non-partisan Ontario Legislature intern with the Ontario Legislature Internship Programme, she was placed in a Progressive Conservative and later Liberal office in 1996.
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Annamie Paul attended high school at Toronto's Runnymede Collegiate Institute and holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Ottawa and a Master of Public Affairs degree from Princeton University.
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Annamie Paul was called to the bar in Ontario in 1998.
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Annamie Paul is the older sister of Canadian actress Ngozi Annamie Paul, twin sister to Luther, and is married to international human rights lawyer Mark Freeman.
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Annamie Paul's mother is from Nevis and her father from Dominica.
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Annamie Paul's father died in a long-term care home from a bladder infection on May 29,2020.
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Annamie Paul converted to Judaism, the faith of her husband, in 2000.
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In 2001, Annamie Paul started the Canadian Centre for Political Leadership, whose work was supported by a fellowship from the Echoing Green Foundation and support from the Maytree Foundation.
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In 2017, Annamie Paul co-founded the Barcelona International Public Policy Hub, a social enterprise co-work space designed to be a catalyst for international NGOs working on global challenges.
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In 2019, Annamie Paul co-created the 1834 Fellowship to train young Black Canadian policy leaders, a project of Operation Black Vote Canada.
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Annamie Paul interned for Liberal MPP Dominic Agostino in 1996, who served as Gerard Kennedy's leadership campaign co-chair.
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Annamie Paul stated she interned for him to see what a leadership campaign looked like.
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Annamie Paul moved back to Canada from Barcelona in 2019 and won the Green nomination for Toronto Centre in July 2019.
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Annamie Paul stood in the 2019 federal election as the Green Party candidate in Toronto Centre, where she lost to then-Finance Minister Bill Morneau.
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Annamie Paul called the leadership race, the first one since 2006, an "opportunity for renewal" for the party.
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On September 24,2020, Annamie Paul announced that she had received permission from the Green Party to apply to be a candidate in the October 2020 federal by-election in Toronto Centre.
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On October 3,2020, Annamie Paul was elected leader of the Green Party of Canada, becoming the first Black Canadian and first Jewish woman to be elected leader of a major political party in Canada.
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Annamie Paul won 54.53 per cent of votes on the final round of voting, defeating runner-up Dimitri Lascaris and six other candidates.
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On October 26, Annamie Paul placed second in the Toronto Centre by-election, increasing her proportion of the vote by just over 25 per cent from the 2019 race.
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In January 2021, it was reported that Annamie Paul had decided to run in an Ontario riding during the next federal election, and was considering Guelph or a Toronto electoral district.
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About two weeks later, it was confirmed that Annamie Paul intended to run again in Toronto Centre.
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The statement led to a split within the party, with several members calling for Annamie Paul to denounce Zatzman's statement.
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Annamie Paul instead described the situation as a "difference of opinion", and called for "solidarity to condemn anti-Semitism", and noted that she did not believe MPs were antisemitic.
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Annamie Paul announced her pending resignation as Green party leader on September 27,2021.
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On November 10,2021, as voting in the review was ongoing, Annamie Paul officially submitted her resignation and ended her membership within the party.
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Annamie Paul is an Action Canada Fellow, Echoing Green Fellow, member of the University of Ottawa Common Law Honour Society, alumna of the Government of Canada Recruitment of Policy Leaders Program, and a recipient of the Harry Jerome Award.