Although the BC Green Party’s leader Sonia Furstenau lost her seat in the Legislative Assembly during this week’s election, she has just announced she will remain the party’s leader.
BC Green MLAs Jeremy Valeriote (West Vancouver-Sea to Sky) and Rob Botterell (Saanich North and the Islands) won in their electoral districts and will be the BC Greens’ representatives in the legislature, but they will continue to follow the leadership of Furstenau.
“British Columbians demonstrated that they don’t trust any one party with 100% of the power,” said Furstenau.
“They need our next government to leave the negativity and toxicity of the campaign behind, get down to work and start delivering for them. I am prepared to provide guidance and counsel as our party and our province enter this new chapter.”
Neither Botterell, nor Valeriote have ever served their constituents as MLAs, so the BC Greens say they are grateful for Furstenau to continue on in her role as leader of the party, despite not holding a seat in the legislature.
“Sonia was instrumental in ensuring effective policy during the minority government from 2017-20 and she was a distinct voice of hope in this overwhelmingly negative election campaign,” said Alex Pope, BC Greens Provincial Council Co-Chair.
“Her vision and experience are critical as our new Caucus begins their work as MLAs and BC once again faces the possibility of a minority government.”
Botterell secured his seat in the Saanich North and the Islands riding, where previously Adam Olsen had served as MLA since the 2017 election.
Meanwhile, Valeriote managed to win his seat in an electoral district that has voted in majority for the BC Liberal Party since 1991. In the 2017 election, he was short just 60 votes of winning over the Liberals and managed to cross over the line this time around.
“We’re glad to have Sonia’s strong leadership as we take on our new jobs as MLAs and navigate the prospect of having the balance of power in the Legislature,” said Botterell and Valeriote in a joint statement.
“We are honoured that our constituents voted to send a BC Green Caucus to Victoria and we are ready to hit the ground running for them. Voters in our riding voted their conscience. We will honour that by staying true to our principles and serving as the voice of reason in the Legislature.”
Related:
- Here’s a breakdown of how and why British Columbians voted in the 2024 election
- BC’s final election results may not be determined until next week due to recounts
- No clear winner between NDP and Conservatives as BC Election night draws to a close
- BC Green Party Sonia Furstenau loses seat after changing ridings
Though the official results of the 2024 BC election will not be revealed until somewhere between October 26th and 28th, current results indicate that whoever does form government, the BC NDP or the BC Conservatives, it will likely be a minority government which will put a lot of power in the BC Greens’ hands.
A similar result came about after the 2017 BC provincial election, which saw a tight race between the BC NDPs and BC Liberals.
Because of a supply and confidence deal between the BC NDP and the BC Green Party, the former were able to form government over the BC Liberals.
As of this publication, Furstenau and the BC Greens have not revealed whether a supply and confidence deal may be on the horizon between them and the BC NDPs again.
On a federal level, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh just tore up his supply and confidence deal with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, which allowed for the Liberals to have more voting numbers in Parliament over the Conservatives.
Furstenau received 9,027 votes, but lost the Victoria-Beacon Hill riding to incumbent BC NDP MLA Grace lore who received 12,715 votes. The BC Conservatives’ Tim Thielmann only received 5,171 votes.
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