The B.C. Green Party leadership contest is underway and the candidate list is set. With two candidates in their 20s and the third in his mid-forties, it is clear there is a youth movement brewing in the party.
It is not a huge surprise to see younger candidates in a party rooted in environmentalism and social justice. Younger people are more likely to experience the impacts of climate change, and in recent years, many have taken action.
This is perhaps best exemplified by 16-year-old Greta Thunberg sailing from Europe to New York to address the 2019 U.N. Climate Change Conference.
The eldest of the bunch, Jonathan Kerr, is 44. He is a two-term Comox councillor, family doctor and regional district vice-chair. He touts his experience with issues such as housing, homelessness and job creation, in addition to his environmental bona fides.
"I know what it takes to run for office as a Green and win," he said.
Adam Bremner-Akins is a 23-year-old Simon Fraser University political science student and party volunteer who wants "bold action" on affordability, climate change and social issues.
"As someone who is younger, it feels like there is no more time to wait for action," he said.
Emily Lowan is a 24-year-old climate activist who wants to topple the "oligarchy" and create a party that "fights back."
Lowan explained how she feels as a young person entering the workforce in the 2020s.
鈥淗ome ownership and good stable work feel like a fantasy," she said, "and it's honestly difficult to imagine our futures through the haze of wildfire smoke and worsening climate disasters every year."
West Vancouver-Sea to Sky MLA Jeremy Valeriote is the current interim leader of the party. Neither he nor Saanich North and the Islands MLA Rob Botterell want the leadership job long-term. Valeriote is still undecided about who he will vote for, and when he decides, he intends to keep the decision to himself.
"I'm really excited about this race," he said. "We have three great candidates who will spend a lot of time talking to members and residents of B.C., taking the pulse of where people are at, and reinvigorating the party."
To vote in the , individuals must be as of Aug. 10. Voting will take place between Sept. 13 and 23, with results announced on the 24th.
Candidate resumes
Lowan touted her experience in the non-profit sector. She most recently worked at Climate Action Network Canada on campaigns related to industrial pollution caps and fossil fuel divestment. She has also led research projects, done environmental assessments for First Nations, and published academic papers on climate change.
"I grew up facing the climate crisis head on, and I think it was an accelerator in my life, forcing me to be serious from a very early age about who I was and what we needed to do and how I could contribute," she said.
Bremner-Akins is still a student, but has worked for the B.C. Greens in various roles for four years, including as the party's secretary.
"I have the experience of knowing the organization inside and out, knowing the people, knowing just what our values are, really having those ingrained into me," he said.
As a twice-elected Comox municipal councillor, Kerr said he has the government experience and ability to work across the political aisle to get things done. Kerr said that in the past three years, he has recruited 45 family doctors and nurse practitioners to move to his community, and helped create a new Comox Valley housing authority while protecting forests and wetlands.
"In addition to all of this, I've been a champion for the environment, I've been an advocate against new pipelines," he said.
Growing the party and leading while not sitting as an MLA
The B.C. Greens managed to send two members to the legislature in the most recent provincial election, but the party's provincial vote share slipped from 15.09 per cent in 2020 to 8.24 per cent in 2024. Each candidate has a plan to turn that around, and all three plan on running for a seat at the next opportunity.
Bremner-Akins wants the party to be more connected to people throughout the province, instead of just those in its traditional strongholds, such as Vancouver Island. He plans to visit all 93 ridings if chosen as leader. And while he would run for the legislature in the next election, this is not his priority.
"I think initially the leader should focus on building out the party itself and the organization, and then focus on getting a seat when time comes to election," he said.
Lowan also sees the next leader being without a seat in the legislature as a "silver lining" because it allows them time to organize and grow the party. She is getting a head start on that work with the stated goal of doubling party membership before the Aug. 10 eligibility deadline to vote in the leadership race.
"I hope that as I bring in new members, we can build our power by working together with the existing base under a bigger tent," she said.
Kerr agreed that working outside the legislature gives the next leader an organizational advantage. And he is already touring the province engaging with potential candidates for the next election. His view is that growing the party will only happen if it expands its focus beyond environmental issues to capture the issues at the top of mind for many British Columbians.
"In order to grow the party, we need a leader that can take us even further," he said. "We need to have the best climate plan, the best environmental plan, but also the best plan for jobs, the economy, housing and health care."
The deal with the NDP and thoughts on fast-tracking legislation
The B.C. Greens signed the Cooperation and Responsible Government Accord (CARGA) with the NDP after the last election, pledging to provide support for the government on confidence votes and select pieces of legislation.
The NDP has a one-vote majority in the House and doesn't need the Green MLAs' support to pass bills, but things could fairly easily go awry for the governing party without it. Without the Greens, every NDP MLA must be present for each vote.
But CARGA still does not force the Green MLAs' to support every piece of legislation. In May, they opted to vote against two contentious pieces of fast-tracking legislation, bills 14 and 15.
Kerr was pleased to see the Greens get some concessions from the NDP through CARGA, even though it meant sitting on the sidelines and watching the NDP pass the fast-tracking bills.
"They've accomplished so much," he said. "CARGA is bringing real improvements to B.C., expanded rental assistance, more non-market housing units, new community centres, more supports for homelessness, investments in regional transit."
He added that because CARGA needs to be renegotiated each year, the next party leader will be able to influence the deal. He wants a switch to proportional representation in the next election included in the agreement, and he wants this done through legislation rather than referendum, which failed previously in what he called a flawed process.
Lowan was slightly more critical of the way things went with CARGA. She said that the Greens lacked the leverage in negotiations to force the NDP to bend on environmental issues. Part of this is that she thinks the party needs to grow.
"From an outsider's perspective, it did read that, yeah, the Green Party has not effectively built their power and threat to the NDP, and I think that was reflected in the negotiations," she said.
She cited the government's decision to allow the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission line to proceed on a 10-year-old environmental assessment certificate, and moves to electrify liquefied natural gas production as issues that she wants the Greens to negotiate harder on.
Bremner-Akins said that he thinks the two Green MLAs did the best they could with the cards dealt concerning bills 14 and 15, but that there is room for more Green policy ideas in CARGA.
Trying to derail those bills wasn't worth ripping up the agreement, he said.
"I think maintaining [CARGA], while still voicing our opposition very loudly, was the better move to make for the province," he said.
