WATCH: BC Greens leader Emily Lowan to run in Saanich North and the Islands as Rob Botterell retires

BC Greens leader Emily Lowan has revealed that she will be running in the riding of Saanich North and the Islands.

MLA Rob Botterell, who has held the seat since 2024, announced his retirement.

He said the decision was made "with mixed emotions."

Botterell introduced his successor during a press conference in Victoria on Wednesday.

"She has the trust, she has the passion, she has the advocacy — and most importantly, she has a vision that we're all supportive of to see the province actually move away from the old-style politics of the NDP and the Conservatives and fashion a future that is so positive."

That "Believe in Better" plan, Lowan explained, consists of four pillars: "a life you can afford, care you can count on, economic fairness for all, and our fight for the future."

"We'll get mega-corporations and the ultra-wealthy to finally pay their fair share," she explained, "and with that funding we can ensure that every British Columbian can live a dignified life."

Lowan added that she has a strategy to ensure her party will "hold the balance of power" in the legislature and "hold the government to account and get real results to make our province safer, healthier, and more democratic."

Since being elected leader of the party in 2025, Lowan has repeatedly hinted that she would be running somewhere on the island.

"I grew up in Victoria, I grew up in Saanich," she told Sitka Media just days before the writ dropped, "so the south island is my home, it's my base."

Saanich North and the Islands encompasses the municipalities of North Saanich, Central Saanich, and Sidney, as well as the Southern Gulf Islands as far north as Ladysmith.

The riding has long been a BC Greens stronghold. Before Botterell, the riding was represented for seven years by Adam Olsen.