Green Leader Sonia Furstenau loses seat after changing Vancouver Island ridings

The leader of the Green Party of British Columbia has lost her seat in the 2024 B.C. election after changing Vancouver Island ridings.

Sonia Furstenau lost to NDP member Grace Lore, the minister of children and family development in the previous ruling NDP government.

“It’s such an honour to be an MLA. It’s not the outcome that we’d hoped for in Victoria-Beacon Hill tonight, but I’m so proud of the campaign that we ran,” Furstenau told her party members in Victoria on Saturday night.

“We knew we were up against a steep hill. We were trying something bold and new, but the challenge was a little more than we could do. I’m so heartened by the support that we got. I’m so heartened,” she continued.

Furstenau was first elected 2017, when her party played a key role in helping the New Democrats form government with a confidence and supply agreement between the two parties.

Furstenau released the party’s 2024 election platform recently which included lofty promises like taxing the rich, ensuring everyone in this province can afford a home by either owning or renting by 2035, and there was an obvious focus on the environment.

“We knocked on 14,00 doors. We attended every debate. We put it forward … I was very excited about, a vision centred on the well-being of people, on nature, and on our public institutions,” Furstenau said.

“It’s a strange time in politics when during an atmospheric river, people come out and vote for a party that’s denying the reality of climate change,” she said.

“But hey, this is where we’re at,” she added. “This is a passing of the torch, and I am going to be there to mentor and guide in any way that I can.”

Long-time Green Party MLA Adam Olsen announced he won’t be running again making Furstenau the only Green incumbent seeking re-election, while dozens of other first-timers threw their hat in the ring.

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–With files from Sonia Aslam.