The Conservative government should take its cue from the new American president and build its stimulus plan around investments in green technology, Elizabeth May says.

The Green party leader, who spoke Thursday in Ottawa, offered her party's wish list for next Tuesday's federal budget, a document that Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said will include massive spending to stimulate the faltering economy.

"We're looking at Mr. [Barack] Obama reimagining his economy being less dependant on fossil fuels as solution to the economic crisis," she said. "The Green Party of Canada believes Canada needs a green, new deal."

Obama has vowed to spend billions to create new sources of renewable energy, boost public transit and improve the electrical grid to create millions of "green jobs."

May said any Canadian economic stimulus package should include investments in alternate energy sources such as wind and solar power, along with money for municipal infrastructure to rebuild bridges, improve transit and undertake water projects.

"They are both investments for the future and they stimulate the economy in the short term," she said.

The government should also extend employment insurance benefits and ensure that new ships, vehicles or supplies for the Canadian Forces should be built or purchased in Canada if the cost differential is within ten per cent of what it would cost to build or buy it offshore, she said.

May warned the government against using taxpayers' money to provide subsidies for the expansion of the Alberta oil sands or natural gas exploration in the Beaufort Sea, saying such spending is "not a wise use of government resources."

"There is a way to go forward with an economic plan to that makes sense to kick-start our economy, to provide the stimulus that we need and to do so in a way that does not create long-term structural deficits and at the same time, which allows Canada to move from laggard, back of the pack in addressing the climate challenge, to be part of the solution," she said.