Canada's Green Party Leader Elizabeth May was elected to Parliament on Monday, marking the first time a member of the environmental party has won a federal election in North America.

May defeated an incumbent Conservative Party candidate in a race on the Pacific Coast in British Columbia in an election that saw the Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper win a majority government.

The Greens ran candidates across Canada, but focused their efforts on getting May elected to ensure they had at least a small voice in the House of Commons. They attempted a similar strategy in the 2008 election and failed.

"Today we proved that Canadians want change in politics," May told her supporters.

No Green Party member has ever been elected to federal office in the United States, but the party that emerged from the environmental movement is a political force in European countries.

Reuters