OTTAWA — Elizabeth May says she is no longer the leader of the federal Green party.

May told a news conference today on Parliament Hill that she’s stepping down as leader effective immediately, and appointing deputy leader Jo-Ann Roberts as her successor.

May, 65, says she promised her daughter three years ago that the 2019 election would be her last as the party leader — though not necessarily her last as an MP.

Roberts is a former New Brunswick CBC journalist who ran unsuccessfully for the Greens in Halifax in the recent federal election.

The fact that neither of the other two Green MPs elected last month — Jenica Atwin in Fredericton and Vancouver Island’s Paul Manly — were tapped for the interim job, ensuring they are eligible to seek the permanent job at a leadership convention in October 2020.

Both were elected as Green MPs alongside May last month. Atwin is the first from outside of B.C. to be elected under the Green banner.

May has led the Greens since 2006, becoming the first Green MP elected to the House of Commons in 2011.

(Canadian Press)