HALIFAX — Nova Scotia's fledgling Green party has less than a month to save itself from being scratched off the province's list of recognized political parties -- and missing out on public funding.

Elections Nova Scotia said the party, which earned its official status in 2006, missed an April deadline to submit required financial information on contributions.

A letter was sent to the party Friday indicating the chief electoral officer was "initiating deregistration," said Dana Doiron, a spokesman for the agency.

He said the Greens were given 30 days to meet their obligations.

"That's a process, not an event," Doiron said in an interview Monday.

"There are a number of things that will be part of that process, including having the leaders of the Green party, particularly the official agents, to respond why they should not be deregistered."

Doiron said the Greens have received more than $307,000 since 2007, based on a public funding formula.

Only the province's four recognized parties -- the New Democrats, Liberals, Conservatives and Greens -- are eligible for the funding.

Ryan Watson, who assumed the party's leadership a year ago, conceded he wasn't aware of the missed deadline until "recently."

"It's an unfortunate situation that we would not like to be in," he said.

"We sent our statements to the auditor in March and through back-and-forth communications, and miscommunications and various things, we didn't submit it to Elections Nova Scotia."

Watson said the party hoped to have the audited reports submitted to Elections Nova Scotia by the middle of next month.

The Greens have already posted financial statements that have not been audited on its website, he added.

Still, Doiron said there's no guarantee the party will be spared from deregistration.

"But the expectation is if they met the obligations . . . there's no reason to not halt the process," he said.

Watson said he doesn't believe the issue will damage the Greens in the long run, but the party will strive to ensure it does not happen again as it moves forward.

"We don't have a large staff at all, in fact it's volunteers who work on our finances and serve on our executive of course, so there's been a lot to do," he said.

"Ultimately, it is my responsibility to be looking at these things in the party and make sure it's all running smoothly, and this is something that we missed."

The Greens have never held a seat in the provincial legislature. The party earned about 9,600 votes in the June 9 election, up slightly from 2006.