Elizabeth May is pitching herself as co-leader of the Green Party: sources

Former Green Party of Canada leader Elizabeth Mayis going to run again for her old job and is proposing to share responsibilities with a co-leader, sources tell CBC News.

Multiple sources confirm a report by the Toronto Star that May is set to join the Green Party leadership race.

Sources who spoke on the condition of confidentialitybecause they aren't permitted to speak publicly toldCBC News that May is proposing to run as co-leader. Some sources said they were caught off guard when they first heard the news.

According to the party's leadership guidelines, the party will announce official leadership contestants on Aug. 31.

The field of candidates will be whittled down through two rounds of voting; the party will announce which candidates made it through the first roundon Oct. 14. The final round of voting begins immediately after and the party is expected to announce anew leader on Nov. 19.

The Green Party has come in for criticism over itsstrict rules for the race.Quebec Green Party Leader Alex Tyrrellsaid the format favours well-known candidatesover less prominent ones.

Tyrrell was preparing a leadership campaign of his own when the federal party expelled him earlier this month. The federal Greens said they ejected him because he violated the party's code of conduct with his controversial statements about the war in Ukraine.

Sources who spoke to CBC News said May's proposedco-leadership modelwould require the approval of party members. The sources said she's hoping to lead the Greens alongside Jonathan Pedneault,a former researcher at Human Rights Watch.

May resigned the leadershipin 2019 after what many observers called a disappointingfederal election campaign result for the party. The party increased its seat countin the House of Commons to three fewer than some had predicted.

If she's elected, May will succeed Annamie Paul, who resigned after the 2021 election.

Paul,the first Black and Jewish woman elected to lead a federal party,described her brieftime in the leadership as one of the most challenging periods in her life. Sheaccused some federal council members of writing a list of allegationsagainst her that were racistand misogynistic.