Elizabeth May's Twitter Has As Many Followers As Andrew Scheer & Jagmeet Singh Combined
In the age of social media, having a high follower count matters. There's no doubt it makes you pretty influential, especially if you're a political party leader currently running for Prime Minister of Canada. Elizabeth May's Twitter has almost as many followers as Conservative leader Andrew Scheer and NDP chief Jagmeet Singh combined, and that's something you wouldn't necessarily expect from a Green Party leader. With over 320,000 followers, May has quite the rep online.
May began her media journey in the '70s after being active in the environmental movement at the time. According to her website, the 65-year-old has long been a committed and dedicated advocate when it comes to topics such as social and environmental justice and human rights. She has also been an environmentalist, writer, activist, and lawyer, for those who didn't know.
May's profile was already considerable even before her ascent to the forefront of Canadian politics. For instance, she had already been made an officer of the Order of Canada for her achievements by the time she became the leader of the Green Party back in 2006.
These days, May uses her follower advantage to promote her platform and stances on Twitter for Canada and the world to see.
Part of the appeal of May and her Green Party to many likeminded people online is their relatability on issues such as social justice and environmental change.
"While Scheer wants to cut foreign aid, Greens commit to 'making poverty history' at 0.7% GDP in ODA. The Liberals have failed here. Only CPC makes Liberal aid levels look good." reads one of May's tweets.
You can rest assured that she doesn't shy away from attacking the "big dogs" in the polls, either.
May has shown a willingness to think outside of the box, too. The Green Party has introduced proposals that'll not only support climate change issues and focus on the student debt crisis, but has also suggested introducing a "robot tax". This tax would essentially protect employees who are replaced with automated workers.
Despite her many proposals and promises as potential future PM, May has dealt with some recent scrutiny, as does everyone in her kind of position. After a metal straw was photoshopped into a picture of May, people quickly started to call her and the Green Party out.
Criticism or backlash, whatever it may be, May has dealt with her fair share of issues on both the environmental and political campaign trails. After all, she's been in the game for years.
There are stories everywhere. If you spot a newsworthy event in your city, send us a message, photo, or video @NarcityCanada on Twitter and Instagram.