Green Leader Sonia Furstenau addresses supporters following B.C. election loss

Sonia Furstenau, leader of the B.C. Green Party, focused on what she was grateful for when she addressed supporters Saturday night after losing the election.

“It’s not the outcome that we hoped for in Victoria-Beacon Hill tonight, but I’m so proud of the campaign that we ran,” she said.

Furstenau acknowledged she was facing an uphill battle by switching ridings to Victoria Beacon-Hill, where she lost to the incumbent NDP candidate Grace Lore, who served as Minister of State for Child Care under David Eby.

The candidate seemed to get emotional while thanking her campaign volunteers and caucus staff, but said it wasn’t a goodbye.

“This is a passing of the torch and I’m going to be there to mentor and guide and lead in any way that I can,” she said.

During the campaign, Furstenau argued that her party was the only one taking climate change seriously, and took one final shot at her competitors during the concession speech.

“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, but hey, that’s just where we’re at,” she said.

The Green candidate performed the best out of the three main party leaders during the televised debate, according to Angus Reid Institute polling, with 79 per cent of respondents saying she performed “well” or “very well.” Support for the Green Party jumped to 12 per cent following the debate, that poll showed.

But while there was some hype around the Greens and their leader in the lead up to the election, including a glowing endorsement from Hollywood star Mark Ruffalo, the momentum didn’t lead to enough votes for Furstenau to be re-elected.

The Greens are poised to maintain their two-seat count in the legislature, with Rob Botterell winning in Saanich North and the Islands and Jeremy Valeriote in West Vancouver- Sea to Sky in the lead as of 12 a.m.

Furstenau made her speech before the results for those MLA-elects came in, but still told supporters they would have a pivotal role in the legislature.

“I know that the Greens’ Jeremy Valeriote and Rob Botterell will play an essential and important role in this legislature because they are voices of reason, they’re the voices of truth and honesty, of compassion. They’re essential; Greens are essential in our landscape,” she said.

And just how pivotal that role will be remains to be seen with the election race too close to call. A minority government—and a situation like 2017 when the Greens formed a confidence and supply agreement with the NDP to topple the minority Liberals—is still on the table. 

Furstenau told supporters she won’t give up her fight for Greens to have a say in B.C.’s future.

“I will not stop standing up for this party, for the future of this movement, because it’s needed.”