OTTAWA -- The federal Green Party is continuing its campaign for a new leader amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but parliamentary leader Elizabeth May says the initial fundraising requirement has been scaled back.

May stepped down after 13 years as leader, following the 2019 federal election and shortly after the party鈥檚 push for a replacement got underway with less fanfare then their Conservative counterparts.

Initially, interim leader Jo-Ann Roberts had announced that leadership candidates were set to have to fundraise a total of $50,000 by the end of July, but as The Canadian Press reported, that entry fee was viewed by some prospective candidates as too high and a barrier to entry. 

Citing the pandemic, that requirement has been scaled back to a total of $30,000, May said on Wednesday. Now, candidates have to put up an initial $10,000 by June 3 and the remaining $20,000 by September 1.

鈥淚t is hard for the candidates to fundraise during a pandemic. The party itself has significantly reduced fundraising efforts, recognizing that our members, as all Canadians are struggling right now financially it's not a great time to be sending out massive mailings asking for money,鈥� May said.

So far, there are :

  • Annamie Paul, a Toronto lawyer and former diplomat who founded two social non-profits and is a first generation Canadian of Caribbean heritage;
  • Amita Kuttneris, an astrophysicist focused on black holes, who identifies as non-binary and has advocated for diversity in STEM; and
  • David Merner, a lawyer and public servant, who has been involved in various environmental and democracy-focused organizations. 

鈥淲e also have a number of candidates who've mentioned that they would like to run, but are not yet approved, at least five others. So it's looking to be a very interesting leadership race, a lot of diversity in the range of candidates鈥� we have different candidates representing very different voices than we usually see in leadership races,鈥� May said.

The party is still planning to name their new leader at a convention in Charlottetown on Oct. 4. Already, the plan was to elect the leader through a combination mail-in and online voting process. Anyone who is 14-years-old and holds a Green Party membership as of September 3 will be eligible to cast a ballot.

May said she will not be endorsing any candidate in the race, which she鈥檚 previously said she hopes acts as a reinvigorating force for the party.