Coon says he plans to remain as the member of the legislature for Fredericton Lincoln. He said he's resigning as leader to give the party time to choose a successor before the next election.

"With a new leader, we'll move to a new level of support in the province, a new leader who can generate a new level of excitement, with new perspectives, new ideas," Coon said during a news conference in Fredericton on Thursday. "And I'm convinced that we'll see the party's support grow significantly in the province. We've seen that in P.E.I., and we've seen that in the U.K. for the Greens there."

Coon joined the provincial Green Party in 2006 and became its leader, without a seat in the legislature, in September 2012. He was elected in 2014, becoming the first Green member of a legislative assembly in the Maritimes and just the second party member elected to a provincial legislature in Canada.

Born in Toronto and raised in Montreal, Coon graduated with a bachelor of science from McGill University in 1978. Before politics, the trained biologist was an environmental organizer and activist, mostly with the Conservation Council of New Brunswick where he's a former executive director.

During his political career, Coon has pushed for more renewable energy development. In the most recent legislative session he championed the strengthening of clean water laws and called for more government transparency after a chemical spill south of Fredericton in March.

Coon and his wife, Janice Harvey, have two daughters.

This report by was first published June 4, 2026.

-- By Devin Stevens in Halifax.??

-- With files from Eli Ridder.

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