The original photo of Green party leader Elizabeth May (left) taken in 2018, and (right) the altered image showing a metal straw with a reusable cup and the party logo on it (circled). Source: Green Party of Canada

A political party in Canada has admitted to Photoshopping an image of their party leader.

The unaltered photo taken in in 2018 at a food street market showed Elizabeth May smiling and holding a cup.

When the photo appeared on the party’s website recently, the image had been edited to include a metal straw in a reusable cup with the the Green Party logo on the front.

The Green Party’s message is largely made up of environmentally conscious values, with one of their policies calling for Canada to ban single-use plastic items with a deadline of 2021 on some items such as straws.

Ms May addressed the Photoshop blunder with a statement on the website, releasing the original photo and said she was “completely shocked,” when she realised the photo had been edited.

Ms May said that the cup she was using at the time the photo was taken was a “compostable cup” and that she practices what she preaches.

The minister went on to address that her daily practice is to “avoid single use plastic items 100% of the time” and she carries her own “reusable coffee cup” and “bamboo utensils”.

Ms May could not explain why the image was altered but she suggested that it was a “misstep by well-meaning party staff” and assured the public that she had nothing to hide in the original photo.

“I walk the talk every day,” she wrote.

Early this year Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison was also caught up in a Photoshopping fail by a staff member who decided to ensure his boss had sparkling white sneakers.

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