Sonia Furstenau said she's stepping down as the leader of the B.C. Green Party, but insisted her party has not reached its ceiling, while warning of larger threats against democracy. 

Furstenau, who described herself as a "reluctant" and "accidental" politician, announced her decision to leave politics after a decade Tuesday (Jan. 28) in Victoria. 

"This is it for politics," she said. "It was fun 香蕉视频直播� mostly."

Furstenau, who recently became a grandmother, cited personal reasons for her resignation in describing the last year causing "a kind of bone-marrow level of exhaustion."

Furstenau's resignation comes after she had lost her campaign to win the riding of Victoria-Beacon Hill during last October's provincial election.  Furstenau, who had previously represented Cowichan Valley between 2017 and 2024, said she had already decided before the election to step down as a leader in early 2025. 

"I knew that I wasn't going to run again and I knew the best thing for the B.C. Greens would be to have enough time for a new leader to find their feet, to build their teams and to start building up for the next election," she said. "So I don't know if anybody else knew this, but I knew for certain that my time as leader was limited either way."

Furstenau's announcement marks the end of a political career that had started in Vancouver Island's Cowichan Valley, where voters first elected her to the regional district, then twice as their MLA before her unsuccessful switch to Victoria-Beacon Hill. Furstenau had first gained political prominence when she successfully lobbied the B.C. Liberals to revoke the permit for a contaminated landfill site near Shawnigan Lake's water supply.  

Furstenau cited that political history to make the larger point that politicians can succeed through collaboration with locals and across party lines rather than conflict.

"I also didn't expect that the minister that we were lobbying so hard (former environment minister Mary Polak) would ultimately become a friend," she said. 

Furstenau offered several such insights and appeals during her speech, which referenced the 2017 confidence-and-supply agreement that led to first NDP government in 16 years under the late premier John Horgan and the 2024 agreement with current New Democratic Premier David Eby. 

"The B.C. Greens have played an over-sized role in B.C. politics," she said. "Our team was part of significant change, banning big money in politics, lobbying reform and greater transparency."

She also pointed to accomplishments in the areas of Indigenous relations and environmental assessments. "Most importantly, we showed that co-operation results in better outcomes." 

Furstenau said she was "feeling a great sense of accomplishment," when looking back on her time in politics. She added she is leaving politics "with my integrity with me." 

Jeremy Valeriote, MLA for West Vancouver-Sea to Sky, will assume the role of interim leader. Both Valeriote, as well Rob Botterell, MLA for Saanich North and the Islands, said they would not run to replace Furstenau, who had become leader in 2020 following the resignation of former leader Andrew Weaver. 

The party plans to announce the rules for replacing Furstenau in February and elect a new leader in September. 

With neither Valeriote nor Botterell running, the party's new leader will start his or her career outside the legislature. Furstenau said she is comfortable the two sitting MLAs will hold government accountable, pointing to agreement the party had signed with New Democrats. 

"They will continue to work as an opposition caucus, fighting for all of the things that are so embedded in the values of the B.C. Greens and in our platform, fighting for better action on climate change, for a transition of our economy, fighting for services for people, for recognizing that government should first and foremost be serving the most marginalized, most vulnerable people in society." 

Whether that agenda has a future in light of political developments cited by Furstenau herself remains to be seen.

"We have a difficult road ahead of us in politics and democracy," she said. "It's not an exaggeration. We are not just facing idle threats from bombastic men to attract attention. There are growing threats to democracies in the United States, across Europe and here in Canada." 

Warning of a "billionaire-class" creating an oligarchy and "chaos" stemming from climate change, Furstenau rejected the suggestion her party has stalled out, while acknowledging that the current electoral system works against it.

"In this age of polarization, Greens are more important than ever," she said.  "I really think in the next election, we are going to see a wave of B.C. Greens elected to the B.C. legislature," she added.

UBC political science lecturer Stewart Prest said Furstenau will be remembered for moving the party through "what is in many ways a difficult period" during which the B.C. Greens "have struggled to maintain relevance". 

Despite polarization, Furstenau has maintained the party's relevance as a "kind of conscience or good parliamentary citizen" within the legislature, while also maintaining 香蕉视频直播済ood governance香蕉视频直播� in the province, Prest said. 

"She has been doing an effective job as leader with very limited resources, at a time when Green parties across Canada are clearly struggling to maintain relevance in their respective political environments," he said. 

Whether Furstenau's legacy of keeping the party relevant beyond her leadership remains an open question.

B.C. Greens, "for better and for worse," reflect their members, especially their elected MLAs, Prest said

"From one era to the next...we can see dramatic shifts of how the party positions itself."

Prest said Furstenau has shifted the party from the "middle-of-the-road" positions under former leader Weaver to a "much more overtly progressive presence in the legislature."

This dynamic looms over the leadership contest with Prest calling the field "wide open" but "not necessarily in a good way" because there is "no obvious contender" for the position.

"I do think that speaks to the real challenges we see the Greens facing, where they really don't seem to be able to break through in a meaningful way," he said, adding that any future leader would face a "real uphill climb." 

While the party has maintained a "toe hold" in the legislature, it is still "in many ways, quite a marginal party in terms of the overall vote share," Prest said. Perhaps case in point was the last provincial election. 

Whereas the party won just over 15 per cent in 2020, it dropped to 8.2 per cent. 

Like Green parties elsewhere in Canada, B.C. Greens are facing an electorate "increasingly comfortable" with their environmental positions and "finding parties within the rest of the political spectrum to reflect those views," Prest said. 

"It is difficult for Greens to continue to demonstrate additional relevance and additional reason for existing effectively within their respective political situations," he said.