Sonia Furstenau stepping down as B.C. Green Party leader
'We've shown that politics doesn't have to be a binary choice,' Furstenau says in farewell address
Sonia Furstenau has announced she is stepping down as leader of the B.C. Green Party, and a new leader will be chosen.
Furstenau, 54, has been leader of the B.C. Greens since 2020 and was an MLA from 2017 until 2024, when she failed to get elected in the riding of Victoria-Beacon Hill.
The party says it will choose a new leader by mid-to-late September.
It is currently represented in the B.C. legislature by two first-time MLAs: Jeremy Valeriote and Rob Botterell. Valeriote is taking over as interim leader but both men said they are not interested in pursuing permanent leadership, preferring to focus on their new roles.
'A great sense of accomplishment'
Furstenau had previously represented the riding of Cowichan Valley but decided to run in Victoria-Beacon Hill in the last election, saying she wanted to be closer to her adult children. However, she lost to incumbent NDP cabinet minister Grace Lore by 3,688 votes — a margin of 13.7 per cent.
The party announced at the time that Furstenau would stay on as party leader to help manage the transition and to play a role in negotiating with the NDP, which won a narrow majority.
In December, the two parties announced a co-operation agreement outlining a list of priorities agreed upon by both sides, including health care, affordable housing and the economy.
"I'm stepping down today feeling a great sense of accomplishment," Furstenau said of that agreement while expressing confidence in the party's future and noting its influence despite only electing five MLAs over the past decade.
"We've shown that politics doesn't have to be a binary choice," she said. "I think we've really demonstrated how critical and how essential the B.C. Greens are."
New MLAs won't run for leadership
Furstenau said Valeriote, the MLA for West Vancouver-Sea to Sky, will take over as interim party leader. A geological engineer, Valeriote previously served as a councillor for the Town of Gibsons from 2014 to 2018 and as an executive co-ordinator in the District of Squamish's mayor's office from 2021 to 2023.
Molly McKay, the B.C. Green Party's interim executive director, said the rules of the upcoming leadership contest are expected to be released in February, with a new permanent leader to be chosen by "mid-to-late" September.
Both Valeriote and Botterell, who represent Saanich North and the Islands, said they will not be pursuing the leadership position this time around.
Valeriote said his children are still young, and he can't make the time commitment involved in being the party's leader.
Botterell, who is house leader for the party, expressed similar sentiments.
"I just got elected, and I'm carrying out the inspiring legacy of Sonia Furstenau. What a dream come true."
Furstenau said while she would still be supporting the party she did not expect to take an active role, instead describing her future with the Greens as an "auntie" who would share food and advice but not try to steer the ship.
Teacher-turned-politician
Raised in Edmonton, Furstenau attended the University of Victoria and earned a degree in teaching, a career she pursued for several years before entering the political fray in 2014 as a Cowichan Valley Regional District director.
There, she was a fierce opponent to the waste discharge permit that allowed a quarry upstream from Shawnigan Lake to receive and store contaminated soil.
The dumping permit was cancelled in 2017, just a few months before she was first elected as an MLA.
Mary Polak, who was the B.C. Liberal environment minister at that time, says she has a fierce respect for Furstenau, who did not give up on issues she was passionate about.
"She is one of the most authentic and genuine people in politics," Polak said. "She well understood that while there was a role for partisanship, not everything was partisan."
Furstenau became deputy leader of the B.C. Green Party, and under then-leader Andrew Weaver and alongside Adam Olsen, MLA for Saanich North and the Islands, the three MLAs struck a deal to prop up John Horgan's NDP minority government. The party helped draft the province's Clean B.C. plan, which set targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Weaver and Furstenau would later clash after he stepped down as leader, with Weaver publicly criticizing Furstenau for moving the party too far to the left. Weaver endorsed the NDP in the 2020 election after Horgan called a snap election.
During her time in the legislature, Furstenau pushed for an end to old-growth logging, worked with Indigenous communities to end the practice of birth alerts (in which hospitals alerted child welfare authorities about newborns at risk, which disproportionately affected Indigenous families), as well as advocating for mental health services to be covered under MSP.
Olsen said Furstenau championed issues that would not have gotten attention otherwise.
"She created space for those who didn't really have a voice in our political system," he said. "In reflecting back on her leadership, it took a lot of courage to not be chasing the political narratives and focusing on the issues that matter to the most vulnerable British Columbians. Sonia was the only leader willing to take those issues on."
Former B.C. United health critic Shirley Bond said she worked closely with Furstenau on an all-party committee that examined the best responses to the opioid crisis. Furstenau, Bond said, approached that file with a "ferocity ... that really challenged us to think about things in a different way."
"The Greens may have not had big numbers in the legislature, but they brought a perspective that's important to hear," Bond said.
Speaking to CBC ahead of the 2024 provincial election, Furstenau said she felt her party had successfully pushed the government to do more to address major crises facing the province, including the toxic drug supply, affordability and the climate crisis.
Furstenau was praised for her performance in the televised leaders' debate, with many pundits saying she offered a long-term vision for the province, while the other two leaders, David Eby and John Rustad, took swipes at each other.
WATCH | Furstenau steps down as Green leader:
Furstenau and her husband, Blaise Salmon, have a blended family of five kids.
She welcomed her first grandchild at the beginning of December.
Speaking in Victoria on Tuesday, Furstenau thanked family, staff and supporters.
"My heart bursts," she said. "I could not have done it without you."
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