Can they save the Greens?

Interim leader hopes to change political conversation through lived experience

They didn’t necessarily want the job. Yet they applied. And now, Amita Kuttner is interim leader of the troubled and divided Green Party of Canada.

An astrophysicist from British Columbia, Kuttner is the first leader of a mainstream federal party who is trans. They are also the first leader of Asian descent in federal politics.

Just two weeks ago, Kuttner told the Star the role of interim leader is “an awful job.” But on Wednesday night, they were selected from a pool of applicants to take over a federal party that is fractured from months of turmoil and accusations of racism and poor leadership that led to the resignation of Annamie Paul, the Toronto lawyer who led the party for barely a year.

The Star spoke with Kuttner by phone on Thursday about their historic appointment — and how they think the Greens can recover.

You’ve previously expressed concerns about transphobia and other forms of discrimination in the party. You told me the other day you weren’t sure you even wanted this job. Now that you’re interim leader, how do you feel?

It’s been a little personally overwhelming because I think I broke a number of ceilings. I’m not actually always comfortable with a focus on my identity, but it happened. That’s a lot of emotion.

In terms of my history with the party … it’s real — the transphobia is real, the racism is real, the discrimination is absolutely clear.

But it’s not the majority of the party … So my experience with the hate that I received —I didn’t get the feeling that people were out to hurt me, but rather were coming from a place of a serious lack of knowledge and understanding. … I think what we can and what we need to accomplish together is far more important than any of these disagreements.

As you say, you’re breaking ceilings. What does that mean to you?

It’s an honour that I hope I’m prepared to carry … Representation is incredibly important. It also opens you up to a lot of discussion (about) your identity. Somebody asked me already on the radio: “Well, what were you born as?”

I hope that we can actually focus on my lived experience and what having this perspective means to changing the political conversation.

There are different takes on what happened over the past year, blaming Paul for her leadership style or saying there was racism inside the party. What lessons are you bringing into this new role from this difficult period for the party?

As happens many times in interpersonal conflict, everyone’s view of it is true to themselves. Their own perception of it is real. The truth lies somewhere in the nebula between perceptions of reality. And I don’t know if we’re going to find it, or supposed to or if that’s necessary to bring about a sense of reason and justice and safety again.

My understanding of the struggle of the past year, it almost comes down to this vision of power centralized in the leader versus the vision of power diffused throughout the grassroots …What’s your sense of what power should be like in the Green Party?

What I think is important is that everybody agrees with what that arrangement is, and it’s clearly laid out, which has not been the case. And I think that’s the core of a lot of the disagreements. I’d rather work in a group.

But in order to have a group that you can work with, you need to have the foundational trust, and that has not been there.

What are your priorities moving forward to get the party back on track?

Getting the leadership contest well-run, getting rid of the hiccups that we faced last time, and also making it as equitable as possible. … Other than that, fundraising is very immediate. And the unification and healing process is there.

Personally, I also really want to support caucus. The party to me, who we are, is actually what we get done in the House. That’s what we carry and are able to promise to people when we’re offering them a Green MP.

What do you think the party needs in its next standardbearer that succeeds you as elected leader?

I think somebody who is an excellent communicator, both intra-organizationally and externally, is going to be essential.

What makes the Green Party unique in the end is not the fact that we have climate policies, it’s because we have a different approach to governance and politics … We need to focus on climate policy, but it needs to be so clear that in every single policy we talk about, we’re solving the climate emergency.