Following the BC Green Party’s 2025 leadership race, it has been announced that Victoria’s own Emily Lowan will be the new leader of the party.
On Wednesday, September 24th, a press conference was held to announce the new leader, and it was revealed that Lowan won with 60.6% of the vote.
She had 3,189 votes, as compared to Jonathan Kerr’s 1,908 and Adam Bremner-Akins’ 128.
“Our bold, progressive vision has captured the imagination of a new generation of Green voters,” said Lowan.
“I know that we’re at the forefront of a powerful movement that will reclaim BC’s economy for working people, not billionaires and multinational corporations. Together, we can build a resilient, thriving province that respects Indigenous sovereignty and our planetary boundaries.”
Lowan is 25-years-old and a self-proclaimed renter, organizer and advocate for climate justice and Indigenous solidarity.
She campaigned on a platform of affordability, climate action, social wellbeing and Indigenous rights, with her slogan being “Fight the oligarchs, fund our future.”
The three key pillars of her platform included:
- Fight the oligarchs — stop pipeline construction and expansion, ban all fossil fuel expansion and phase out production, implement vacancy control and bring down food costs with price caps on all staple groceries
- Fund our future — tax BC’s richest corporations and the 1% to fund 26,000 affordable housing units per year, free public transit, mental health support and “green” jobs
- Respect Indigenous rights — uphold DRIPA and only go forward with projects that have full Indigenous consent
Lowan’s relevant experience for this role comes from a background of climate action, democracy and Indigenous solidarity.
Prior to becoming the BC Green’s new leader, she worked with Climate Action Network Canada, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ Corporate Mapping Project and as UVic Student Union Director of Campaigns.
She says she has led campaigns, conducted investigative research and built broad coalitions through her various advocacy roles.
In her acceptance speech, Lowan noted that during the leadership race, BC Green Party’s membership saw unprecedented growth, with thousands of BC residents becoming new members.
The BC Green Party now officially has more active members than the Conservative Party of BC, who are the official Opposition to the BC NDP.
She added that she is hopeful the BC Greens will win a record number of seats during the next provincial election.
Currently, there are just two BC Green MLAs in the Legislative Assembly.
