Emily Lowan, 26, wins BC Greens leadership and runs in Saanich North after climate advocacy

The Story

Emily Lowan, 26, is leading British Columbia’s Green Party in a snap election campaign and running to represent Saanich North, the region where she grew up and still describes strong ties.

Lowan said her childhood experiences on the Saanich Peninsula, including time outdoors such as camping, snorkelling and crabbing, helped shape what she called a “deep reverence” for the natural world, which she linked to her decision to pursue politics.

She credits her long-term activism to concern about ecosystems and to a belief that “the politicians and the corporate forces that are threatening our democracy and a livable future on this planet” need to be challenged, adding that her goal is to put power in communities.

Before her leadership role, Lowan played a key part in a student-led campaign that pressured the University of Victoria to direct its investments away from fossil fuels. She also later worked on climate advocacy with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and Climate Action Network Canada, where her manager was Lauren Latour.

Latour, who managed Lowan while she worked at Climate Action Network Canada between 2023 and 2025, said Lowan coordinated efforts among non-profit and Indigenous groups while pushing for phasing out fossil fuel extraction. Latour described Lowan as having “positive magnetism” and “knowledge of climate policy in Canada,” along with experience organizing at the community level, and said Lowan is “incredibly audacious” and willing to be bold in her campaign ideas.

Lowan won the Greens’ leadership contest last year, taking over from Sonia Furstenau.

Outgoing Green legislator Rob Botterell, who won in Saanich North and the Islands in 2024 and has said he planned to serve one term, said Lowan has a clear vision for bringing young people into politics and pushing for “bold, courageous change” on climate change, affordability and health care. Botterell also said he was “thrilled” Lowan is running in Saanich North and described seeing constituents’ “eyes light up” when they recognized her during door-knocking.

Botterell said he was stepping away from the legislature, and he pointed to NDP Leader David Eby for calling a “completely unnecessary election” with two years left in the government’s term. He added that he would have “loved to carry on for the next couple of years,” but said he believes Lowan can be “somebody that you can trust.”

Lowan’s campaign in Saanich North is also supported by her family, including her grandmother, who previously ran a children’s book shore in Sidney, B.C. Lowan said her grandparents worked blue-collar jobs and opened a small business that allowed them to buy a home and provide generational wealth, which she contrasted with what she described as the lack of similar opportunities for her generation.

On her priorities for voters, Lowan said climate action can be difficult for people to think about when “basic needs” are not met. She said she wants to combine climate action with affordable living, including what she described as a “guarantee on good, green jobs,” universal child care and social housing.

Lowan said she believes B.C. has a revenue problem and described it as major corporations being able to walk away with billions of dollars in what she called “corporate welfare.” She said the Greens’ platform will outline how to raise money to fund affordable housing, child care and health care, including taxing the ultra-wealthy, while building a more independent and resilient economy.

She also said people have “lost trust in a political class” across B.C.’s major parties, which she said have “bought in and sold out” to corporate interests. In contrast, she said the Greens’ approach centres on young people, workers, renters and “everyone else who is being crushed by the status quo in B.C.”

Lowan said she believes the Greens can hold the government to account and deliver results, and she argued that young leaders with “bold ideas and real hope” are needed to bring back people who have “stopped voting” and “tuned out.”