Federal Green Party Leader Elizabeth May announces her commitment

Green Party leader Elizabeth May is engaged and is planning a wedding next spring.

May announced on Monday that she and John Kidder will be getting married in Victoria on April 22 and are planning a train trip from Vancouver to Ottawa shortly thereafter for their honeymoon.

She said the couple had known each other for about five years, but the sparks flew at a Green Party convention in Vancouver in September.

Kidder, of Ashcroft, BC, asked the question about a month later.

Kidder, 71, has deep roots in the Green Party and comes to the federal government for a seat in British Columbia. and is a founder of the provincial party.

May says that he is a retired technology entrepreneur who operates a hop farm in Ashcroft but also spends time in Vancouver.

"I had a crush on him and he had one for me," said May, who represents British Columbia. riding of Saanich-Gulf Islands in the House of Commons. "It was a bit like high school."

She said that once the two men had decided that they were an object, the proposal had been submitted quickly.

"When you know it's true, it's true. Tourbillon, "she added.

Kidder is the brother of late actress Margot Kidder, said May. He has three children and four grandchildren.

May, who has a daughter, three stepchildren and seven grandchildren, credited her friend Sylvia Olsen with her matchmaker. Olsen is the mother of Adam Olsen, the green member of British Columbia. legislature for Saanich North and the islands.

She said that Olsen had told her that she would encourage Kidder to take the initiative.

"Let's face it," said May. "I did not have the time. I said, "I do not need a partner." I am really busy. I am pretty happy as a single woman. "

But now, May said that she was delighted.

"I feel pretty awkward," she said.