Emily Lowan wants to be the “bridge” between activists and government.
The new B.C. Green Party leader developed this idea while attending the University of Victoria, working with the student council and protesters to force the school administration to divest from the fossil fuel industry.
“Students still putting pressure on the outside and having that heat from different points in the student union definitely informed a theory of change that I still carry now,” she said in a year-end interview with Black Press Media, “which is being able to have a bridge between outside movements and inside pressure systems.”
Lowan was first “propelled” into activism at around the age of 15, when Donald Trump was first elected U.S. president. She began by working to turn out young voters in Canadian elections.
“Despite that being a small action, it was something that I think really laid the groundwork for critical engagement and work in the community,” she said.
Fast-forward to 2025, and she left her job as a strategist at the Climate Action Network Canada to run a surprising, insurgent campaign for Green Party leader. Clad in a green jumpsuit — “It’s the power suit,” she says — she took over as party leader on Sept. 24, having received 61 per cent of members’ votes.
But without a seat in the legislature, Lowan is forced to work from the outside — despite leading a political party with two sitting members. She still doesn’t get a key to the legislature building and is barred from using public caucus funding to finance her efforts.
So, Lowan spent much of the three months since being elected leader of the B.C. Greens working to grow the party. She just wrapped up a tour of the Okanagan and northern B.C., visiting areas she acknowledged aren’t exactly Green Party strongholds, such as Vernon, Salmon Arm and Hazelton.
“I was delighted by the turnout and the conversations we had there,” she said. “Like, maybe I had low expectations and was bracing for heckling along the way.”
Green-NDP deal looms large
Now, Lowan’s task is to somehow mesh her activist message with the pragmatic approach of Green Party MLAs Rob Botterell and Jeremy Valeriote. This will require compromise.
The party is in the midst of the annual renegotiation of the Cooperation and Responsible Government Accord, which exchanges Green MLA support on select government legislation for the tackling of agreed-upon initiatives.
This agreement predates Lowan’s arrival as leader and relies on the two Green Party MLAs working with the government, regardless of how much they disagree on certain issues. Without this deal, the Greens would be unable to advance any priorities.
The Green Party submitted its proposal to the NDP for what to include in the next agreement, but has yet to hear back. Lowan said she and the two MLAs are still a bit unsure about how it is “landing” at this point.
She said she is also still working with the MLAs to determine where the “red line” is that would mean the caucus could no longer work with the NDP.
If a deal is signed, Lowan expects it to be finalized by the start of the spring legislative session, scheduled to begin with a throne speech on Feb. 12, 2026.
Even while negotiations are underway, Lowan did not hold back on her critique of the government.
She said she is “dismayed” by the state of the province, and that Premier David Eby is acting “spinelessly” on Indigenous relations and addiction treatment.
“What we are seeing is that they are pretty much abandoning their traditional progressive base,” she said.
Lowan says she spoke to lots of dissatisfied NDP voters on her recent provincial tour. Many come from the traditional NDP base of labour unions, upset after the eight-week B.C. General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) public service strike this fall.
“There is a contingent of BCGEU members who appreciated that we were the only party showing up on the picket line,” she said.
On the outside, at least until an election
If the Green Party and the NDP can’t reach a deal, it raises the odds of an election. As it stands, the NDP holds a one-seat majority, but Vancouver-Strathcona MLA Joan Phillip has stepped aside from her duties due to undisclosed health issues, and Victoria-Beacon Hill MLA Grace Lore continues to receive colorectal cancer treatments and must vote via video call.
Though she has previously said she would like to run in a Vancouver Island riding, Lowan said she is “not closed to the idea” of running in a Vancouver-Strathcona byelection if Phillip were to step down.
But a byelection would take time to organize, so if Phillip or Lore is unable to serve in the legislature in the spring, the government could have a difficult time pursuing its agenda.
This uncertainty ups the stakes for the government to reach an agreement with the B.C. Greens. And while Eby has said he does not plan to call an election, he has not ruled out one if his government fails to get the support it needs to further its agenda.
Lowan says she does not think taxpayers want another election in two years, and puts the ball in the government’s court, saying her party would work to “reclaim the narrative” if Eby were to attempt to blame the Greens for an election.
But, she adds, the Green Party is prepared for “any outcome.”
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