Climate justice advocate joins race for B.C. Greens leadership

VICTORIA — The B.C. Green Party says a 24-year-old advocate for climate justice and Indigenous solidarity has joined the party’s leadership contest.

Emily Lowan is the second person to announce their candidacy in the race after Comox town councillor and physician Jonathan Kerr.

The candidates are seeking to replace Sonia Furstenau, who had been leader since 2020 but announced she would step down after failing to be re-elected in the last provincial election.

Lowan says in a news release that her campaign will focus on “stopping major projects that ignore Indigenous rights, implementing vacancy control, lowering the cost of living, and taxing the ultrarich.”

She says those changes would allow the province to invest in affordable housing, free public transit and “good green jobs.”

The party says it will release the names of other contestants in the coming days.

It says a town hall will be held in August before a contestant debate in September.

Voting by party members will run from Sept. 13 to 23, with the results to be announced on Sept. 24.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 3, 2025.

The Canadian Press