Jill Stein

Jill Ellen Stein (born May 14, 1950) is a Canadian politician, professor, and Green activist who has served as Member of Parliament for New England since 1997 and Leader of the Green Party of Canada. She previously has held the roles of Deputy Leader of the Green Party and head of the Green Party of New England. Following her resignation as provincial leader after the 1994 New England general election, Stein twice sought election to Leader of the Green Party. Her first run in 1995 failed, but she was appointed Deputy Leader. She was finally successful in 1998, ousting incumbent leader Laurel Collins.

Stein is the first person from New England to serve as party leader for a major political party.

Personal life
Stein was born in New Haven, Connecticut to Gladys and Joseph Stein. After being raised for four years in the coastal Connecticut city, Stein and her family moved to Rowe, New England. Her family home was in close proximity to the controversial Yankee Row Nuclear Power Plant, which Stein later led protests against until its closure and permanent decommissioning in 1992. In 1973, Stein graduated magna cum-laude from Harvard College, where she studied psychology, medicine, and microwave management. In 1979, Stein graduated from Harvard Medical School and later worked as a Professor of Medicine at the school.

Activism and New England politics
Following her graduation from Harvard Medical School in 1979, Stein returned to her western New England hometown of Rowe and began a grassroots campaign to close the Yankee Row Nuclear Power Plant. Critics had called out the plant for flouting safety regulations, and believed the surrounding community would not be safe in the event of an accident. After over 10 years of organizing and demonstrations by Stein and other local community leaders, the plant announced on November 4, 1992 it would be permanently closing and halting its energy production. Following this successful campaign, Stein experienced a surge of popularity among local environmental leaders. The Green Party of New England, founded in 1989 by John Rensenbrink, was searching for a permanent leader to lead the party into the upcoming 1994 elections, and Rensenbrink was retiring from local politics. Environmental activists encouraged Stein to run for the position, Stein accepted, and on July 2, 1993, Stein was elected as the leader of the Green Party of New England. She led the party to contest seats in the Legislative Assembly of New England for the first time, although failed to cross the electoral threshold to receive seats. Following a poorer than expected result, Stein resigned as leader of the Green Party of New England and vowed to "continue advocacy and political efforts in a different direction."

National politics
On December 14, 1994, Stein expressed her interest in becoming leader of the national Green Party of Canada. She officially announced her candidacy for the position a week later on December 21. Stein proceeded through the first and second rounds of voting, but was defeated in the third round by Laurel Collins. Collins then proceeded to appoint Jill Stein as Deputy Leader of the party.

As Deputy Leader, Stein campaigned nationally for the Green Party and was included in the party's list of candidates for the Province of New England. Stein was elected from this party list as New England's first Green MP following the 1997 Canadian Federal Election, in which the Green Party crossed the 5% electoral threshold in the province.

Stein announced her second candidacy for leader of the Green Party in February 1998, a race which she won in August.

Political positions
Stein describes herself as "eco-socialist," "conservationist," "progressive," and "unequivocally liberal" among other terms. Her ideology most mirrors the late Maine socialist and naturalist Norman Wallace Lermond, with her support of local unions, co-operatives and mixing of economic and conservationist issues. Stein supports the closure of "dirty power" including coal and natural gas, as well as additional restrictions on nuclear power plants. Stein supports direct democracy, with proposals such as lowering the electoral threshold in federal and provincial elections and lowering the voting age.

In January 1994 during a campaign stop for the Green Party in New England's local provincial election, Stein called herself a "New England nationalist." Having lived in both the Province of Connecticut, which was historically a part of the New England region, and the Province of New England, Stein has pushed for referendums on the unification of the Provinces of New England, Connecticut, and parts of the Province of Saint-Croix to restore "a Province with shared historical and cultural bonds." Stein stated that, if she became Premier, she would seek to assemble a "Second Hartford Convention" with the Premiers of Connecticut and Saint-Croix.

On the topic of the monarchy, Stein has remained neutral, admitting that she "wouldn't know how to vote" if a referendum on the monarchy was put to a vote. She has previously stated that anti-monarchy groups such as the Canadian National Party are not focusing on the issues that matter, those being the environment, rampant capitalism, and social issues.