Wanted: Leader of the Third Party
No experience necessary
In the coming months, British Columbia will have its first provincial leadership race following the 2024 fall election. Green Party leader Sonia Furstenau is stepping down after being defeated in Victoria-Beacon Hill.
The leader of the Green Party has one primary job — to build. The party had a poor showing a few months ago, failing to run candidates in a quarter of ridings, losing half of their vote share and seeing their leader defeated on election night. The party even failed — for the second time in less than a year — to file their financial disclosures with Elections BC.
With four years before the next election, in part because of an agreement between the Greens and NDP, the new leader will have a significant challenge ahead. The question is, what kind of leader will take the reigns, and who might step up to seek the role.
A legislative leader
Despite both saying they won’t run, the obvious contenders for the mantle of party leader are the two elected Members of the Legislative Assembly, Jeremy Valeriote and Rob Botterell. Representatives West Vancouver-Sea to Sky and Saanich North and the Islands, respectively, the rookie MLAs would have the advantage of having already secured a seat, and be able to bring Green issues directly to the government.
The problem here is that, as Furstenau likely discovered, it is incredibly challenging to serve both roles simultaneously. In a larger party, such as the NDP, there is a bench of caucus-mates that can pick up the slack when a leader is required elsewhere. If one of the two MLAs became leader they would both see a massive increase in their workload. This is one of the reasons federal Green MP Mike Morrice opted out of the last federal leadership race.
Inevitably, one of the two roles would end up suffering. Spend too much time focused on party building for the election, and the party’s presence in the House is diminished. Spend too much time on the legislative end of things, and the party won't be equipped to challenge the next election. Furstenau was by all accounts a capable legislator, but when the election arrived the party came up short.
If they change their minds, of the two Valeriote has the most experience, having run twice and previously been an elected city councillor in Gibsons. Botterell, a retired lawyer, benefitted greatly from the groundwork built by his predecessor, Green MLA Adam Olsen.
A successor
The Green Party may have struggled to find candidates for the 2024 election, but that does not mean they did not have a few favourites. There were two candidates that seemed to receive the most attention during the campaign from Furstenau herself, and would likely be her preference for a successor.
One was Deputy Leader of the party and candidate for Oak Bay-Gordon Head, Dr. Lisa Gunderson. A diversity and equity consultant, Gunderson was regularly featured in literature and in advertisements standing next to Furstenau. Oak Bay-Gordon Head was once a Green riding held by former leader Andrew Weaver, which positions her to potentially take it back with the attention a leader would receive.
The other that seemed to be in the spotlight was Arzeena Hamir, a farmer who ran in Comox Valley. While she was unsuccessful in her bid to become an MLA, she was one of only three candidates in the entire province to increase their vote share — the others being Furstenau and Valeriote — albeit by only 1.2%. In the middle of a province-wide collapse, growing the vote in her riding makes Hamir unique among other potential competitors.
A party builder
Whoever becomes leader will inherit a party in a much weaker state than it has been in decades. Beyond a strong presence in the legislature itself, it's clear that the party needs to undertake some significant building over the next four years. That is why the members may consider turning to someone who will focus on building the party infrastructure and let the MLAs be the ones to handle the legislative end of things.
This can be a successful approach — look at Mike Schreiner in Ontario. He was involved behind the scenes for years before he stepped forward to replace former leader Frank de Jong, and his party now holds two seats in Ontario’s legislature and came very close to winning Parry Sound-Muskoka in their last election.
The Greens may look to a candidate like Nicole Charlwood in Kootenay Central, who had an impressive showing in 2020, was elected to Nelson city council and stepped forward again in 2024. While she lost a significant overall percentage of vote share, she still pulled a respectable 4121 votes. She is one of the few potential contenders off of Vancouver Island who could help the party grow beyond their traditional base.
Similarity, Christina Winter, who ran in Victoria-Swan Lake, is the only candidate other than Furstenau to place second in the 2024 election, finishing three points ahead of the Conservative candidate with 23.3%. Winter was one of Furstenau’s campaign managers for her leadership campaign in 2020.
Another strong party builder is Nicola Spurling, who has thrice run in Coquitlam-Maillardville. She is an outspoken queer activist who has represented the party on several different panels and shows, and has a long history of organizing and standing up for her values and principles.
An environmental activist
A criticism of the Green Party in recent years has been an inconsistent focus on their most important reason for existing — environmental issues. One of the reasons former leader Andrew Weaver saw significant gains was his credibility as a climate scientist. If the party wants to hone in on their roots, they would do well to look at a leader with environmental credentials.
Of the candidates who ran in 2020, Dr. Devyani Singh, who ran against David Eby in Vancouver-Point Grey, would be top of the list. Singh is an investigative researcher working on energy and climate policy, with a background in economics. She also has one of the most important assets an up-and-coming politician can have — a very cute dog.
While Singh has the advantage of history with the party and having run before, British Columbia is home to several prominent environmental activists who could gain the support of climate-concerned voters. Severn Cullis-Suzuki, daughter of renowned broadcaster David Suzuki, has been recognized worldwide for her writing and activism. She is familiar with running a large organization as Executive Director of the Suzuki Foundation and is an accomplished and respected public speaker.
Similarly, chair of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative and board director for stand.earth, Tzeporah Berman, would be able to build the party up in ways other potential candidates could only dream of. With connections all over the province and Canada, she would bring a degree of credibility that would be a huge benefit to the Green Party.
A familiar savior
While there are plenty of candidates who could take the party in different directions, the bruising they received in 2024 will temper some of that enthusiasm. Because of this, they may bring in someone already known to the membership to steady the ship. This happened already in 2000 when former leader Adriane Carr returned to take back the party she helped found, and it happened federally in 2022 when Elizabeth May returned after resigning only two years prior.
Both Carr and May would have built-in support from the membership, who are very familiar with both of them after decades of party involvement. Carr only weeks ago resigned from Vancouver city council, and May could decide to stay closer to home after the next federal election, especially now that her former deputy leader Jonathan Pedneault has returned after a brief absence.
However, both are seemingly moving to exit the front line of politics, talking about spending more time with family. Likewise, former MLA Adam Olsen declined to run in this last election for similar reasons, but would easily be a favourite to win the leadership if he changed his mind and entered the race.
In my opinion, though, the Green Party would benefit greatly from a fresh face, and a blast from the past hardly telegraphs renewal to an electorate looking for change.
A local leader
Some of the best leaders hone their skills at the local level before entering the fray elsewhere. One of the best examples is Jack Layton, who went from Toronto city council to leader of the NDP before winning a federal seat in Toronto-Danforth. Under his leadership, the NDP grew strong enough to form official opposition in the 2011 federal election.
Vancouver city councillor Pete Fry would be a potential contender, and may want a change of scenery with his two progressive colleagues already calling it quits on council. Long-serving Commissioner and former Vancouver Park Board Chair Stuart Mackinnon was elected as a Green in 2008, and has dabbled in provincial politics before. Vancouver School Board Trustee Janet Fraser has also run provincially, and has repeatedly won re-election as a Trustee in the city.
In neighboring Burnaby, former lead guitarist of the punk band D.O.A. and Green city councillor Joe Keithley would be an interesting choice, having transitioned from “Joey Shithead” to “Councillor Keithley” in a city the Greens have struggled to make gains in.
While the party would benefit from a leader who could expand their reach off of Vancouver Island, they may consider recruiting the chair of the Climate Caucus, Will Cole-Hamilton. A councillor in Courtenay and Area Director for Comox Valley, he may not have ever run as an explicitly Green candidate but certainly has the credentials. He would also have the benefit of connections to elected officials all over the province, making him one of the few potential contenders who could confidently attempt to recruit a full slate of candidates over the next four years.
A wild card
Of course, anyone can enter the race to be the next Green Party leader, which opens up the door to all kinds of possibilities.
Former environmentalist mayor of Vancouver Gregor Robertson was floated as a potential candidate in 2020 before Furstenau entered the race. He continues to be a major figure in climate advocacy as the global ambassador for the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy. Having previously served as an NDP MLA would give him credibility in challenging Premier Eby and his caucus on climate issues.
A former councillor who served alongside Roberson, Andrea Reimer was also one of the first people to ever be elected as a Green candidate in Canada, back in 2002. After being defeated as a school trustee in 2005, she was voted in to council with Robertson's Vision Vancouver, and recently sought to run with the NDP in Vancouver-Little Mountain. She was defeated for the nomination by now-Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, Christine Boyle.
Or maybe the Green Party could look to one of the remnants of BC United who refused to join with John Rustad’s Conservatives. Perhaps Karin Kirkpatrick, a former MLA who ran as an independent in West Vancouver-Capilano, would consider joining up with the Greens. A candidate along those lines could potentially bring in environmentally-minded centrists who feel they have no place with a provincial Conservative Party that regularly professes anti-environmental rhetoric.
Regardless of who steps forward, the next leader will have a big challenge ahead. The party lost significant ground in the 2024 election, and rebuilding will take a skilled organizer, communicator and advocate. It will be up to the members of the Green Party to find and choose one.
That is, if anyone wants the job at all.
Some really great options in here and some... other names too.