Sonia Furstenau
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Sonia Furstenau
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 Sonia Furstenau
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| Leader of the Green Party of British Columbia | |
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Assumed office September 14, 2020 |
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| Preceded by | Adam Olsen (interim) |
| Deputy Leader of the Green Party of British Columbia | |
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In office November 2, 2016 – September 14, 2020 Serving with Jonina Campbell
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| Leader | Andrew Weaver |
| Preceded by | Adam Olsen |
| Succeeded by | Jonina Campbell |
| Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly for Cowichan Valley | |
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Assumed office May 9, 2017 |
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| Preceded by | Bill Routley |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1970 (age 53–54) Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
| Political party | Green Party of British Columbia |
| Spouse | Blaise Salmon |
| Residence | Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia |
| Alma mater | University of Victoria |
| Profession | High school teacher |
Sonia Furstenau is a Canadian politician who is currently the leader of the Green Party of British Columbia.
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. She has a BA and MA in History from the University of Victoria.
Political career
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. On January 27, 2020, Furstenau announced her candidacy for the leadership of the party.
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 Resident's 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.
Electoral record
| 2020 British Columbia general election: Cowichan Valley | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Green | Sonia Furstenau | 13,059 | 44.21 | +6.97 | $64,313.52 | |||
| New Democratic | Rob Douglas | 11,875 | 40.20 | +8.57 | $55,431.43 | |||
| Liberal | Tanya Kaul | 4,606 | 15.59 | –12.07 | $15,360.48 | |||
| Total valid votes | 29,540 | 100.00 | – | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 150 | 0.51 | +0.18 | |||||
| Turnout | 29,690 | 59.85 | –7.73 | |||||
| Registered voters | 49,606 | |||||||
| Green hold | Swing | –0.80 | ||||||
| Source: Elections BC | ||||||||
| 2017 British Columbia general election: Cowichan Valley | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Green | Sonia Furstenau | 11,449 | 37.24 | +18.09 | $35,322 | |||
| New Democratic | Lori Lynn Iannidinardo | 9,723 | 31.63 | −8.51 | $54,416 | |||
| Liberal | Steve Housser | 8,502 | 27.66 | −7.24 | $70,112 | |||
| Independent | Ian Morrison | 502 | 1.63 | – | $8,140 | |||
| Libertarian | James Robert Anderson | 302 | 0.98 | – | $398 | |||
| Independent | Samuel Lockhart | 145 | 0.47 | – | $0 | |||
| Independent | Eden Haythornthwaite | 119 | 0.39 | – | $996 | |||
| Total valid votes | 30,742 | 100.00 | – | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 100 | 0.33 | +0.01 | |||||
| Turnout | 30,842 | 67.58 | +5.68 | |||||
| Registered voters | 45,641 | |||||||
| Source: Elections BC | ||||||||
Personal life
Sonia 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.