Jo-Ann Roberts

Roberts left her job at the CBC in 2014 to pursue a career in advocacy for public communication and the environment. She decided to run as a Green Party candidate in Victoria for the 2015 federal election campaign.^[9] While she had been approached by other parties, she claimed that the Green Party platform was the one which most aligned with her beliefs.^[10] She came second in 2015 with almost 24,000 votes, which is more votes than was received by 131 MPs who were elected.^[11]

After the election, Roberts and her family moved back to her childhood hometown of Halifax. In 2018, she was appointed by Elizabeth May to serve as the deputy leader of the party, alongside Daniel Green. She ran as the Green Party candidate in Halifax in the 2019 federal election, finishing in third with 14% of the vote.^[12]

On November 4, 2019, Elizabeth May announced that she would be stepping down as leader of the Green Party, effective immediately. She then named Roberts as the new interim leader.^[13] Roberts served until the election of Annamie Paul in October 2020.^[14]

Roberts ran in Halifax in the 2021 federal election, placing fourth.

Roberts serves as host and producer for the Green Party podcast, People, Politics, and Planet.^[15]

v t e 2021 Canadian federal election: Halifax
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Andy Fillmore	21,905	42.74	+0.27	$103,501.55
	New Democratic	Lisa Roberts	20,347	39.70	+9.66	$90,503.01
	Conservative	Cameron Ells	6,601	12.88	+1.30	$2,924.56
	Green	Jo-Ann Roberts	1,128	2.20	–12.17	$12,448.57
	People's	B. Alexander Hébert	1,069	2.09	+0.95	$3,500.64
	Communist	Katie Campbell	198	0.39	–	$0.00
Total valid votes/expense limit			51,248	99.38		$108,761.04
Total rejected ballots			322	0.62	–0.02
Turnout			51,570	66.06	–6.96
Registered voters			78,065
	Liberal hold		Swing		–4.70
Source: Elections Canada[16]

v t e 2019 Canadian federal election: Halifax
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Andy Fillmore	23,681	42.48	−9.25	$77,935.01
	New Democratic	Christine Saulnier	16,747	30.04	−6.09	$92,096.82
	Green	Jo-Ann Roberts	8,013	14.37	+11.08	$46,730.72
	Conservative	Bruce Holland	6,456	11.58	+2.97	none listed
	People's	Duncan McGenn	633	1.14	–	none listed
	Animal Protection	Bill Wilson	222	0.40	–	$2,719.51
Total valid votes/expense limit			55,752	99.36		$102,876.75
Total rejected ballots			361	0.64	+0.16
Turnout			56,113	73.02	+0.40
Eligible voters			76,843
	Liberal hold		Swing		-1.58
Source: Elections Canada[17]

v t e 2015 Canadian federal election: Victoria
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Murray Rankin	30,397	42.28	-8.50	$222,151.95
	Green	Jo-Ann Roberts	23,666	32.92	+21.31	$147,733.88
	Liberal	Cheryl Thomas[18]	8,489	11.81	-2.18	$36,199.72
	Conservative	John Rizzuti	8,480	11.79	-11.83	$72,891.79
	Libertarian	Art Lowe	539	0.75	+0.26	$900.00
	Animal Alliance	Jordan Reichert	200	0.28	–	$10,110.17
	Independent	Saul Andersen	124	0.17	–	–
Total valid votes/expense limit			71,895	100.00		$234,268.29
Total rejected ballots			241	0.33
Turnout			72,136	77.92
Eligible voters			92,574
	New Democratic hold		Swing		-14.90
Source: Elections Canada[19][20]