Sonia Furstenau (born June 8, 1970) is a Canadian former politician who served as leader of the Green Party of British Columbia from 2020 to 2025. She also served as the MLA for Cowichan Valley from 2017 to 2024; she was defeated after attempting to switch constituencies.
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Early life and career
Furstenau was raised in Edmonton, the child of German immigrants. She attended McKernan Elementary/Junior-High School, where she was in Grade 2 in 1977–78. She went on a trip to Germany with her father, including his native East Germany, where she learned to appreciate the value of democracy by observing the lack of it. She later helped her mother protest against dumping in the vicinity of Elk Island National Park in the early 1990s.
Furstenau attended the University of Victoria starting at age 20, attaining an MA in History and a Bachelor of Education. After teaching in Victoria-area schools, her work took her to Shawnigan Lake in 2011. Here she encountered the dumping of toxic soil close to the water supply, which led her to citizen involvement and to becoming a director of the Cowichan Valley Regional District (see below).
Prior to holding elected office, Furstenau was a high school teacher in Victoria and Shawnigan Lake.
Political career
In 2014, Furstenau started her political career when she was elected to serve as a director of Electoral Area B within the Cowichan Valley Regional District. This was after two years working with the Shawnigan Residents' Association to protest and appeal a British Columbia provincial permit that allowed the siting of a landfill on the banks of the community's source of drinking water, Shawnigan Lake.
Furstenau was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2017 provincial election to represent the electoral district of Cowichan Valley. On November 2, 2016, Green Party leader Andrew Weaver announced that Furstenau would replace Adam Olsen as one of the deputy leaders of the party. After Weaver stepped down as party leader, Furstenau announced her candidacy for the leadership of the party; she was elected leader on September 14, 2020.
On January 31, 2024, Furstenau announced that she would run in Victoria-Beacon Hill during the 2024 provincial general election.
2024 provincial election campaign
The 2024 provincial election campaign had its first highlight in the Oct 8 televised All-Candidates' Meeting. In a 90-minute exchange with Premier Eby and Conservative MLA Rustad, MLA Furstenau confronted the two party leaders with questions on affordable housing, healthcare, the environment and natural disaster and increasing extreme-weather events. Furstenau expressed her disagreement with her opponents in the statement: "I feel like I live in a different place from John Rustad — his vision of B.C. is one that is dark and gloomy," while reminding Premier Eby of some NDP promises since 2020 (from 2017 to 2020 the Greens were supporting an NDP minority government) that came short, especially the government's response to the toxic drug overdose crisis.
In the election, Furstenau was defeated in the riding of Victoria-Beacon Hill, a long-time NDP stronghold, by NDP incumbent Grace Lore. On October 22, Furstenau announced that she would stay on a BC Green leader and assist in the preparations of the new Green caucus. The Green Party later signed a confidence and supply agreement with the NDP in exchange for policy from the Green platform to be implemented.
On January 28, 2025, she announced her intention to resign as leader of the BC Green Party.
Personal life
Furstenau is married to Blaise Salmon who works as a financial planner and has been elected as the local director for the Mill Bay/Malahat district of the Cowichan Valley Regional District. She raised a child as a single mother while at university, taking on book-keeping jobs to support herself and her child.