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The Green Party of Canada has responded to an explosive Toronto Star article. It quotes three former Green Party of Canada staffers' allegations of workplace bullying by Elizabeth May.

May has denied the claims and the Green Party of Canada says it stands firmly behind her.

The full statement appears below:

"The Green Party of Canada stands firmly behind Leader Elizabeth May. She is admired and respected by staff, her constituents in Saanich-Gulf Islands, and by the party's members and supporters.

"She is Canada's longest-serving federal party leader and in her most recent party leadership review she received an outstanding 94% vote of confidence from party members.

"In 2015, she was re-elected in Saanich-Gulf Islands with a greatly increased majority.

"The claims of three former employees are simply the statements of disgruntled former staff and their credibility should be viewed in that context.

"Interactions between Ms. May and party employees are limited. Staffing is handled by the Executive Director and the Leader has no role in HR matters, other than as one of 18 members of the Federal Council.

"The Green Party leadership values and respects its workers. It has a robust and comprehensive process for receiving and resolving complaints from staff about workplace issues.

"Any complaint about treatment of staff would be dealt with under this process. There have been no formal complaints about Ms. May. Sour grapes are unfortunately common with staff who were not retained for performance reasons.

"Ms. May is a strong and forthright leader who expresses herself clearly and with passion.

"The Green Party believes that as a female political leader, she is being held to a different standard than her male counterparts.

"A man with these qualities is admired for his leadership. A woman is portrayed as overbearing and bullying. These outdated gender stereotypes have no place in 21st century Canada.

"It is extremely unlikely that a decade-old anecdote about a man's frustration with his office paint job would merit national news."