BC Green Party leader and former Cowichan Valley MLA Sonia Furstenau announced she is stepping down as party leader.
Furstenau told a news conference in Victoria Tuesday that she is proud of what the BC Greens have accomplished in the last seven years.
“We’ve demonstrated the value of a third party in the BC Legislature that is focused on finding solutions and working across party lines. Collaboration and cooperation are more important than ever in our increasingly partisan political landscape. I am grateful to all of the supporters, staff, and volunteers who have worked tirelessly to build this movement.”
Entering politics in 2014 as a Cowichan Valley Regional District director, Furstenau was then elected as the Green Party MLA for the Cowichan Valley riding in 2017 and again in 2020 and became leader of the party in June of 2020.
Furstenau remained as party leader to assist with the transition and help negotiate the Cooperation and Responsible Government Accord with the NDP.
She entered politics because of her opposition to the waste discharge permit that allowed a quarry upstream from Shawnigan Lake to receive and store contaminated soil.
As an MLA, Furstenau pushed for an end to logging of old-growth forests, and opposed the practice of birth alerts at hospitals where child welfare authorities were informed about newborns at risk, a practice that affected a higher proportion of Indigenous families.
She promoted several major projects, including the new Cowichan District hospital, a new hospice, the new Cowichan Secondary School, the Village Model housing to address homelessness, and a new weir for Lake Cowichan.
Furstenau advocated for mental health services to be covered under MSP and for the province to create team-based primary care and a shift away from the fee-for-service model, as well as the implementation of a longitudinal approach in healthcare.
As the toxic drug crisis worsened, she pressed for more action from the province on compassionate, and evidence-based solutions to address the supply of toxic drugs and the social conditions that fuel this crisis.
Furstenau also urged the NDP government to extend the deadline for industrial water users, such as agricultural operations, to apply for groundwater licenses beyond March 1, 2022.
She called on the government to step back from enforcement under the Water Sustainability Act and restart the engagement process.
Furstenau ran for re-election in the riding of Victoria-Beacon Hill during the October 19, 2024, provincial election and was defeated by incumbent Grace Lore of the NDP.
In that election only two Green MLAs were elected: Jeremy Valeriote and Rob Boterell.
West Vancouver Sea-to-Sky MLA Jeremy Valeriote was appointed interim leader while the Green Party finalizes the timeline and details for a leadership race, to be announced in February.
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