Sonia Furstenau, MLA for Cowichan Valley, has announced that she is running to be the next leader of the B.C. Green Party. Andrew Weaver, who led the party to three seats and control of the balance of power in B.C. in 2017, resigned as party leader last year and will sit as an independent. 

“B.C. needs a new style of leadership that listens to evidence and to communities,” Furstenau said. “I got into politics because I saw a disconnect between the decisions made at higher levels of government and how they affect peoples’ day to day lives. I have seen time and time again how good ideas get stalled at the provincial level due to old ways of thinking and partisan divisiveness. But, the past two-and-a-half years in office have also made it clear to me that it does not have to be this way.”

“We need to embrace solutions to the climate crisis that will improve quality of life and create opportunities for British Columbians,” she said. “We need to shift away from century-old markers like GDP growth to more meaningful indicators like equality, infrastructure, health and wellbeing. We need to move beyond the tired ideological wars of the 20th century, focus on the concrete outcomes we want to achieve, and work collaboratively to find the best common-sense policies to make them happen.”

Prince George Daily News, January 27, 2020