Convention 2024
We’re excited to welcome Greens from across the province to join us for our 2024 Annual General Meeting.
Save the date
When: November 8-10, 2024
Where: Holiday Inn Kingston Waterfront (2 Princess Street, Kingston, ON K7L1A2)
This year we will hear from our Green Caucus members, Leader Mike Schreiner and our newest MPP and Deputy Leader, Aislinn Clancy, discuss and vote on policy, elect new Provincial Executive members, recognize some amazing volunteers and so much more!
Convention Attendee Package ENGLISH
Convention Attendee Package FRENCH
Here’s the agenda for this year’s AGM in Kingston at the Waterfront Holiday Inn.
| Friday November 8 | Saturday November 9 | Sunday November 10 |
| 2:30 PM: Registration opens | 7:30 AM-9:00 AM: Breakfast | 7:30 AM-9:00 AM – Breakfast |
| 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM: Local Tours | 9:00 AM – 10:05 AM: Welcomes, President, CFO, ED and Campaign Updates | 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Plenary |
| 6:00 PM: Welcome! | 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM: Workshops Session 1 – Cramming for the Election: Campaign Snapshot – GVote Basics with Gil Maurice – Campaign Strategy 101 with Eric Gilmour – Need Money? Just Ask! with Stephanie Leblanc – At the Door with Mary Ann Coleman – Social Media Do’s and Don’ts with the GPO Comms Team |
12:00 PM: Buffet Lunch |
| 6:30 PM: Buffet Dinner | 11:45 AM: Finishing What we Started with Matt Richter, GPO Deputy Leader and candidate for Parry Sound-Muskoka | 1:00 PM Closing and Wrap-Up |
| 7:30 PM: Celebrating our Win hosted by Maureen Balsillie, Campaign Manager for the Kitchener-Centre 2023 by-election and featuring MPP Aislinn Clancy and members of the local team | 12:00 PM: Buffet Lunch with Caucus Meetings – Francophone Caucus with Michelle Petersen – Healthcare Caucus with Steve Gabell |
1:20 PM – 2:20 PM: Workshops: Session 4 – Collaboration – Benefits of Running a Bilingual Campaign in Ontario with Michelle Petersen, Christian Proulx and Kris Rivard – Young Greens – Hearing from you: Election Strategy Brainstorm with Jaycob Jacques and Sophia Andrew-Joiner – Policy Development Between Conventions with Fiona Jager and members of the Policy Committee |
| 8:10 PM: Using social media to explain the climate crisis and inspire change: Karishma Porwal, Eco-Communicator & Educator in conversation with Darren Elias, GPO Director of Communications | 1:00 PM: Leader’s Address with Mike Schreiner | |
| 8:30 PM: Volunteer Awards | 1:55 PM – 2:55 PM: Workshops: Session 2 – Here’s where I fit! – Coordinating Ground Game with Eric Gilmour and Gil Maurice – CFO’s Role in a Successful Campaign with Paul Kuebler – Strategic Communications with Darren Elias – Volunteer Coordination and Building a Team with Mary Ann Coleman – Managing Conflict with CultureAlly |
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| 9:00 PM: Social Time at the Toucan | 3:15 PM: Bianca Bell, GPO Campaign Steering Committee | |
| 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM: Workshops: Session 3 – Getting to Work! – “Winning in 2025” campaigns with Maureen Balsillie and Eric Gilmour – “2nd Place” campaigns with Mary Ann Coleman – “Double the Vote” campaigns with Matt Chisholm – “Secure the Vote Share” campaigns with Stephanie Leblanc and Melissa Abdollahi |
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| 6:00 PM: Reception 6:45 PM: Plated Dinner |
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| 8:00 PM PE Election Results Announcement | ||
| 8:15 PM Keynote Speech: From one to four MPs: lessons of UK success in defeating first past the post with Chris Williams, Head of Elections & Field for the Green Party of England & Wales |
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| 9:15 PM Social Time at the Merchant |
Guest Speaker – Karishma Porwal, Eco-Communicator & Educator
Karishma is a storyteller, sharing her passion for environmental issues on her well-followed social media pages – with more than 80,000 people following her on Instagram. Her posts have more than 4 million views on Tiktok.
She has always felt close to the natural world, from her childhood on the Malwa Plateau in India to the beautiful Grand River Valley, which she now calls home. She holds a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from the Ivey Business School and a Master’s in Sustainability Leadership from Arizona State University, where she learned to communicate sustainability initiatives to a wide variety of stakeholders.
For the past four years, Karishma has created content about environmental justice and climate policy, collaborating with CBC and CTV. She volunteers for her local paper, covering climate issues, and works with nonprofits to communicate climate issues through captivating content. She also guest lectures on climate communications at institutions such as Western University and Wilfrid Laurier University. In her spare time, Karishma enjoys spending time in her vegetable garden, writing poetry, and swimming at her local pool. In addition to all of her media and content work, Karishma is now at Environmental Defence to continue advocating for both people and the planet.
Keynote Speaker – Chris Williams, Head of Elections & Field for the Green Party of England & Wales
Chris Williams is the Head of Elections and Interim CEO at the Green Party of England & Wales. As the architect of their best ever General Election success this year, taking them from one to four MPs, Chris will be joining us to tell us what it took to defeat establishment forces with exemplary Green ground campaigns, messaging and advance planning to achieve success.
Hotel Rooms and Parking
Group rate rooms are sold out at our venue, the Kingston Waterfront Holiday Inn. Check out these other nearby hotels instead:
- Residence Inn Kingston Water’s Edge
- Kingston Market Square Hotel
- Delta Hotels Kingston Waterfront
- Confederation Place Hotel
Discounted day parking rate of $15 plus tax per vehicle for the whole weekend at the Holiday Inn Kingston Waterfront.
Overnight parking rate of $30 plus tax per vehicle, per night at the Holiday Inn Kingston Waterfront
Registration Prices/Deadlines
Online registration for this event has closed. Please call 1-888-647-3366 if you would still like to register.
*Reminder*
Registration fees for attending annual general meetings will count towards an individual’s contribution limit for 2024 and are eligible for a tax receipt.
Important Dates
- Policy Resolutions: Draft deadline August 23rd, 2024. Final version must be submitted before Friday September 20th, 2024 at 5pm.
- Provincial Executive (PE): PE Nominations close September 20th, 2024. Voting starts October 11th, 2024. Mail in and online voting closes November 4th, 2024 at 5pm. In person voting at the AGM ends November 9th, 2024 at 1pm.
- Volunteer Awards: Nominations close October 11th, 2024.
- Last day to become a member to rank policy and vote for PE by mail: September 27th, 2024
- Last day to become a member to rank policy and vote for PE online: October 21st, 2024.
- Last day to become a member to vote in person for PE and attend convention: October 25th, 2024
These are the minutes from the 2023 convention. Members will need to approve these minutes at this year’s convention.
Policy Process
Do you have an idea that you want our elected MPPs and candidates fighting for?
There are many ways you can participate in our 2024 convention.
As a GPO member, you can
- share your ideas
- give meaningful feedback on submitted policies
- help choose which Policy Statements matter most
- discuss, learn and vote at the 2024 GPO Convention
Plenary and Voting
Plenary is the part of the convention that is attended by all participants (as opposed to the other breakout sessions throughout the weekend). In the GPO, we use the term plenary to refer to the parts of our convention where we consider and vote on constitutional, policy and directive resolutions.
To learn more about how we vote on the policies during the convention, please read our Plenary and Voting information.
Provincial Executive
Every year the party holds internal elections for our governing board, called the Provincial Executive (PE). The PE is responsible for the governance of the Green Party of Ontario and sets the strategic goals, annual plan and budget for the party.
Open positions for 2024/2025:
- Secretary (1 position)
- Central (2 gender diverse positions)
- Northern (2 gender diverse positions)
- Horseshoe (2 gender diverse positions)
- Young Greens (2 gender diverse positions)
Volunteer Awards
The Lois James Legacy Award recognizes volunteers who have demonstrated exceptional service and commitment to building the Green Party of Ontario (GPO). Lois was a decades-long volunteer with the GPO, and was an integral part of the creation of the Rouge National Park.
The Community Involvement Award recognizes volunteers with a proven track record of engaging citizens in the promotion of Green values such as building strong communities, fostering local economies and promoting health & well-being in Ontario.
The Rising Star Award will recognize a newcomer (3 years or less) to the GPO who has shown enthusiasm and ability in volunteering for their Constituency Association (CA), a campus group, or the GPO office and have demonstrated a positive, motivating spirit.
The Becky Smit Party Builder Award recognizes someone who has shown an unwavering commitment to the Ontario Greens and has played an integral role in building party capacity, credibility and electoral success.
Nominate a volunteer for one of these awards by emailing volunteerawards@gpo.ca with the name of the volunteer, the award you think they deserve and why by 5pm on October 11th, 2024.
Equity Policy
Promotion and Protection of Diverse, Equitable, and Safe Spaces
(13.1) The Green Party of Ontario (the Party) is committed to providing an environment free of discrimination and harassment, where all individuals are treated with respect and dignity, can contribute fully, and have equal opportunities. (13.2) Under the Ontario Human Rights Code, every person has the right to be free from harassment and discrimination. Harassment and discrimination will not be tolerated, condoned or ignored at the GPO. (13.3) The Party also recognizes that harassment and discrimination limit the ability of people to participate fully in organizations such as ours and therefore in the practice of the democratic values that our organization endorses. Concomitant with its mission to elect Members of Provincial Parliament and impact Ontario politics, then, the GPO pro-actively supports building awareness of harassment and discrimination and providing for the equitable participation of all Ontarians in the political process. (13.4) The Party is committed to a comprehensive strategy to address harassment and discrimination in the organization, including: (13.4.1) Establishing, publicizing, and regularly revisiting this article; (13.4.2) Providing training and education to ensure that all Party members and staff know the rights that are provided to them and to visitors at GPO events, the responsibilities they have under this article and Human Rights legislation, and the processes and procedures to follow in the event of a complaint; (13.4.3) Monitoring organizational systems to help ensure their design and function minimizes opportunities for harassment or discrimination and maximizes safety and inclusivity; (13.4.4) Providing an effective, accessible, and fair complaints procedure for both complainant and respondent; (13.4.5) Promoting appropriate standards of conduct at all times; (13.4.6) Ensuring that disciplinary or restorative measures are imposed, as necessary and as determined by process; (13.4.7) Promoting diversity on all committees and in all decision-making bodies. (13.5) To achieve the goals and commitments in this Article of the Party’s Constitution, the Party shall have: (13.5.1)The Safe Spaces Committee which shall be responsible for addressing institutional matters as they relate to this Article (13.5.2)The Conduct Committee which shall be responsible for investigative processes, disciplinary matters and enforcement of this Constitution, Party Bylaws, Member Code of Conduct, and the Ontario Human Rights Code.