The moment Amita Kuttner was announced as the new interim leader for the Green Party of Canada, they were already making history.
Astrophysicist @AmitaKuttner has been appointed interim leader of the Green Party of Canada -the first trans person and first person of east Asian descent to lead a national political party. At 30, they are also the youngest leader. #cdnpoli
— Ian Bailey (@ianabailey) November 25, 2021
Kuttner is also non-binary and uses they/them and he/him pronouns.
After it was revealed that there was serious sexism and racism within the Green Party after former leader Annamie Paul stepped down, Green Party members and supporters are hopeful that Kuttner will be able to unify the party.
“I am hoping and I’m pretty optimistic that Amita will help kind of unify the party and help the party with a lot of reflection and talking about what’s happened not just glossing over it, but discussing how we can become a better party, we can become more inclusive, we can, you know, really grow as a party, and not, have what happened with Annamie Paul happen again, because that wasn’t acceptable.” -Mackenzie Kerr, Green Party Member
Mackenzie Kerr, who ran in the 2019 Federal Election for the Green Party in Cariboo-Prince George is also really excited about having more diversity in politics, especially with the fact that Kuttner is the first person of East Asian descent, first transgender, and youngest political leader in Canada.
“The more that your politicians look like you and can represent the public, and are not just the same group of older white, straight males, which is typically what politicians are right now, the more we can diversify our leadership, the more people will be interested in politics want to run for office, feel like they can approach our politicians.”
In the 2015 and 2019 federal elections, white men made up for more than 50% of the elected MPs parliament and also on average received over 10% more funding than anyone else.
“They’re breaking glass ceilings by, you know, being themselves, because that’s just not what you see, usually in politics. And so I’m really, really grateful and hope that the party can give them as much support as possible.”
After the devastating floods and mudslides that occurred across BC, the discussion of climate change has once again become a serious discussion in Parliament. Kuttner has a tragic connection to the devastating effects of climate change.
In 2005, Kuttner’s mom was killed when a mudslide came down Mount Seymour and crashed into their family’s home.
Kerr hopes that with this connection to the impacts climate change has, Amita will able to help push for more climate change policy in Parliament.
“I’m really hoping that people will see their story and see how it can truly impact day to day lives. And that climate change is not something that’s just in the future, that’s going to affect us, but it’s affecting us right now. I think having politicians or leaders of parties, and people interested in politics that have a personal connection, I think can really help build policy that can actually be helpful. And that is not just built on theoretical, but built on real life stories that affects people every day.”
But it is clear already that Amita Kuttner is trailblazer for Canadian politics and they have only just begun.