Home Election Tracker BC Green Party BC Green Leader Sonia Furstenau steps down

BC Green Leader Sonia Furstenau steps down

BC Green leadership race will start this spring, with a new leader by September 2025.

sonia furstenau, podium, leadership
BC Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau announces her leadership resignation, Jan 28, 2025 in Victoria, BC. [Mary P Brooke / Island Social Trends]
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Tuesday January 28, 2025 | VICTORIA, BC

Political news by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends


Today the BC Greens will be changing their leadership, following today’s announcement by BC Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau that she is stepping down.

Rules for interested leadership candidates will be released mid-February and campaigns will start in May. The next BC Green Party leader will be announced in September 2025.

The interim leader is Jeremy Valeriote, MLA for West Vancouver-Sea to Sky; he says he wants to focus on being MLA so will not be running for the leadership at this phase of the party’s development.

rob botterell, jeremy valeriote
BC Green MLAs Rob Botterell (left) and Jeremy Valeriote, on Jan 28, 2025 in Victoria, BC. [Mary P Brooke / Island Social Trends]

Furstenau addressed media one last time as party leader at the Laurel Point Inn where the BC Greens have held many of their party announcements over the years. It was just a year ago (on February 1, 2024) that Furstenau announced her relocation to Victoria-Beacon Hill to run against NDP incumbent Grace Lore in the 2024 provincial election.

About 100 party faithful including MLAs past and present, staff, former BC Green candidates, and supporters attended the 11 am announcement. Furstenau thanked all the ranks including her family, and expressed enthusiasm for being a new grandmother.

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Applause for Sonia Furstenau by BC Green supporters, Jan 28, 2025. [Island Social Trends]

Furstenau today expressed satisfaction at achieving an accord with the slim-majority BC NDP government so that some achievements for British Columbians might be achieved. She hopes to see real action on the housing crisis this year, before the BC NDP/BC Green accord comes up for renewal in November of this year.

Furstenau is concerned abut growing threats to democracy as well as the chaos that stems from climate change.

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She once again thanked Adam Olsen for his long-term support during their years in the legislature together (the only two BC Green MLAs during 2000 to 2024 after the previous party leader Andrew Weaver quit three-years into his mandate as an MLA).

“Succeeding in politics is entirely about teams,” said Furstenau as some wise and grateful parting words.

Furstenau after the 2024 election:

Furstenau ran in the downtown Victoria-Beacon Hill riding against NDP cabinet minister Grace Lore, but did not win.

sonia furstenau, bc green leader
BC Green Leader addresses supporters after her loss in Victoria-Beacon Hill, Oct 19, 2024. [Island Social Trends]

She has since worked to help guide the two elected BC Green MLAs get started in their new legislative roles.

She said her stepping down should not really come as a surprise. She has “left nothing on the table”, she has given her all to a political career which somewhat “happened by accident” because she cared about issues in her community and constituency — as she explained at today’s gathering.

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Greens in the BC Legislative Assembly:

Jeremy Valeriote was elected in West Vancouver-Sea to Sky and Rob Botterell was elected in Saanich North and the Islands.

jeremy valeriote, rob botterell, bc greens
Two new BC Green MLAs were elected in the Oct 19, 2024 BC election (from left): Jeremy Valeriote (West Vancouver-Sea to Sky) and Rob Botterell (Saanich North and the Islands). [Composite]

Since the October 19, 2024 provincial election (for which final results were known on November 8, 2024) the NDP squeaked through with a slim majority of 45 seats, with the BC Conservatives winning 44 seats and the BC Greens two seats.

The BC Greens have signed an agreement with the NDP as part of stabilizing a four-year mandate for the NDP, but with conditions of certain things that the BC Greens want to see achieved.

jeremy valeriote, bc green
BC Green MLA Jeremy Valeriote (West Vancouver-Sea to Sky) is now the BC Green Interim Leader, announced Jan 28, 2025. [Mary P Brooke / Island Social Trends]
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