B.C. Green leader Emily Lowan announced she will run in Saanich North and the Islands for the Oct. 24 snap election after fellow Green Rob Botterell said he would not seek re-election.
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B.C. Green leader Emily Lowan said Wednesday she will be the party’s candidate in Saanich North and the Islands, describing the decision as bittersweet because it also follows Rob Botterell’s announcement that he will not seek re-election.
Speaking as she made the announcement, Lowan said she is “thrilled” at the chance to represent the riding in the legislature while noting the move includes the loss of a close colleague. The snap election has been set for Oct. 24, and Lowan said she will seek election in the district she called her hometown area with “deep green roots.”
Lowan replaces Botterell as the Green candidate for the riding. Botterell, who entered the legislature in 2024 after 25 years practising law for First Nations, said the election call shifted his commitment to serve a full four-year term.
Lowan’s leadership change came after Sonia Furstenau stepped down following losing her seat in the 2024 provincial election. Lowan won the Green Party leadership in September 2025 and has since been without a seat in the legislature, according to the announcement.
She said the party has seen significant growth among younger people, pointing to a near tenfold increase in people under age 30 during her time as leader. Lowan suggested that momentum could translate into a record number of seats in the next election.
Lowan outlined what she said are priorities for Saanich North and the Islands, including seniors’ health care and opposition to a pipeline and tankers on the coast. She also tied her platform to workers’ rights, building a sustainable economy, human rights, Indigenous sovereignty and climate action.
She said her aim is to focus on solutions she believes are available now, while ensuring younger residents can live in the riding as well. Lowan also framed the coming campaign as a chance to offer an alternative to what she characterized as failures by major parties.
Also in Saanich North and the Islands, Central Saanich Mayor Ryan Windsor announced he will seek the seat for the B.C. Conservatives. Windsor, who has served as mayor for 12 years, said he is running for a local MLA role focused on riding priorities and portrayed himself as a centre-right candidate supportive of business and prosperity.
Windsor said that since Green MLA Adam Olsen represented the riding from 2017 until 2024, when he did not seek re-election, the district has not received enough attention. He said he wants that to change, adding that he was first elected to municipal council in 2013 and has been acclaimed as mayor in both 2018 and 2022.
Windsor, who previously ran federally as a Liberal in 2019, said he decided against seeking re-election as mayor in the spring, setting up his entry into provincial politics.
Green dynamics in the riding were also shaped by the prior history of the seat turning Green. The announcement noted that the riding moved to the Green Party in 2017 when Adam Olsen won with almost 42 per cent of the vote.
With Lowan stepping forward, Botterell stepping back, and Windsor entering the race, the Saanich North and the Islands contest is now set with major-party challengers on the Oct. 24 ballot.
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