Elizabeth May responds to backlash after riding in Dodge Viper during the 121st Island Farms Victoria Day Parade

Federal Green Party Leader Elizabeth May rode in 1994 Dodge Viper during the 121st Island Farms Victoria Day Parade.

Federal Green Party leader Elizabeth May has explained why she rode in a 1994 Dodge Viper during the 121st Island Farms Victoria Day Parade Monday after the move sparked criticism online.

The explanation was posted on Twitter after Norman Spector, a columnist who was chief of staff to former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and deputy minister under former B.C. premier Bill Bennett, tweeted out a picture of May in the car. In the tweet, Spector said that the ride didn’t appear to be an electric vehicle.

“Hey, @ElizabethMay, points for riding in the rain with the top down — but that doesn’t look like an EV to me! #bcpoli #cdnpoli,”, Spector wrote. Others on Twitter and Facebook also called out May after seeing the photo or watching her in the parade.

Hey, @ElizabethMay, points for riding in the rain with the top down — but that doesn't look like an EV to me! #bcpoli #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/Xcj5kk7UzP

— Norman Spector (@nspector4) May 21, 2019

In response, May said in a quote tweet that the car belonged to a volunteer.

“It was a rainy ride for sure, and not a Green vehicle. Local #yyj volunteer Pat Peron owns this 1994 Viper. I rode where parade organizers asked me to. :)” May, who is also the MP for Saanich-Gulf Islands, wrote.

The Green Party’s climate plan, called “Mission: Possible” calls for all new cars to be electric by 2030 and replacing all internal combustion engine vehicles with electric vehicles by 2040. In B.C., the NDP government has said all new light-duty cars and trucks will be zero-emission by 2040.

Watch the 121st Island Farms Victoria Day Parade below via CHEK: 

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