As the BC Green Party leadership race intensifies, Emily Lowan is distinguishing herself not just with bold ideas—but with a track record of real-world accomplishments that most politicians twice her age can’t match.
In a newly released campaign video, Lowan lays out an impressive résumé of movement-building, strategic wins, and coalition organizing at the local, provincial, and international levels.
“Building a movement and political force doesn’t just happen. It takes work and experience.” — Emily Lowan
A Proven Leader With a Green Résumé
Lowan has spent the last decade doing the hard work behind the scenes that fuels progressive victories—organizing thousands, coordinating over 180 environmental and social justice groups, and building unlikely coalitions that have achieved concrete policy wins.
- National Organizing: As a strategist at Climate Action Network Canada, she coordinated a network of over 180 organizations—representing 1.5 million Canadians—to take on Big Oil and push for tougher federal and provincial climate policy.
- BC Frontlines: She’s led campaigns against fracked gas pipelines, bringing together both ENGOs and frontline Indigenous land defenders in opposition to destructive fossil fuel projects.
- Alberta Coalition-Building: In a bold cross-regional effort, she united rural landowners, First Nations, lawyers, and environmentalists against a carbon capture pipeline scam—exposing corporate greenwashing designed to extract taxpayer subsidies.
These are not future promises—they are past wins.
Campaigning With a CV
Where many politicians list positions held, Lowan leads with outcomes. From forcing the divestment of $250 million from fossil fuels as a student leader at UVic, to mobilizing thousands of new members into the Green Party, she’s putting substance behind the slogan of “movement politics.”
“It takes careful negotiations backed up by outside pressure,” Lowan explains in her video. “The BC Greens need a leader who can do both.”
Her experience spans from Ottawa to Northern BC to Norway to Dubai—but she remains focused on empowering local activists to win change from the ground up. Under her leadership, six new Green riding associations have been created across BC, and momentum continues to build.
A Counterweight to Corporate Power
Lowan’s campaign sends a clear message: true change comes from the bottom up, not backroom deals.
“In Alberta, I brought together rural landowners, First Nations, lawyers, and big environmental groups to make a collective force to combat a carbon capture pipeline designed to scam more subsidy money from taxpayers.”
This stands in stark contrast to leadership rival Jonathan Kerr, who recently warned in a Business in Vancouver interview that moving toward “far-left extreme views” could cost the party votes. But Lowan is flipping that narrative: the status quo has already cost the Greens relevance—and only bold leadership can turn that around.
“My leadership is expanding the pie of voters, not fighting over a shrinking slice.”
Why This Race Matters
With only two MLAs in the legislature and growing public frustration with the NDP’s record on climate and housing, the BC Greens are at a crossroads. The outcome of this leadership race could determine whether the party becomes a powerful force for progressive change—or retreats into cautious centrism and further electoral decline.
Lowan’s message: it’s time to stop asking what’s safe, and start asking what’s necessary.
Scaling the Movement
Lowan’s movement isn’t hypothetical. Her team says she has already brought in thousands of new members and launched six active riding associations across the province—laying the groundwork for a revitalized, intergenerational Green movement.
“We need to build a truly intergenerational party with both the experience and the energy to affect change.”
She emphasizes that BC Greens must go beyond just talking about change and become a credible threat to the NDP’s inaction—by organizing year-round and building enough outside pressure to force negotiations on key issues like climate, housing, and Indigenous sovereignty.
A Different Kind of Leadership
Lowan’s campaign represents a break from traditional BC Green politics—one often characterized by cautious centrism and low electoral ambition. Her approach contrasts sharply with Jonathan Kerr’s more managerial tone and warnings about being “too far left.”
For many Greens, Lowan’s unapologetically progressive record is exactly the kind of leadership needed to expand the party’s base and relevance.
“I’ve already brought in thousands of new members to our party, energized members who are ready to organize year-round.”
Join the Movement
As the leadership race heats up, Lowan is proving that she’s not just running for the job—she’s already doing the job. Her campaign offers a clear alternative to business-as-usual politics, built on organizing power, not political caution.
If the BC Green Party is serious about becoming a force for transformation in this province, it may need exactly what Lowan is offering: experience, energy, and the courage to lead from the front lines.
