BC Greens Leader Andrew Weaver says he will not be seeking re-election in the next provincial election, which is currently scheduled for 2021.

In a news conference this morning, Andrew Weaver says he has asked his party to begin the process to have a new leader in place before the next election.

“The decision not to run for re-election has not been easy for me,” he said. “I intend to remain as the leader of the BC Greens until a new leader is elected, which I expect will occur in the early summer of next year, sometime after the spring legislative session.”

Weaver was first elected as the MLA for Oak Bay-Gordon Head in 2013, the first Green MLA to win a seat in the BC Legislature. He became party leaders two years later.

“I am making this announcement now so that the party has enough time to start the process of electing a new leader in preparation for the next provincial election,” Weaver added.

He expects the party’s leadership contest will take place at the party’s 2020 convention, which will be held in Nanaimo from June 26 to June 28.

“I’ve given everything I have to this work. Soon it will be time for me to step aside and allow a new leader to take what I have accomplished and make it better,” he said. “In the months ahead, I will continue to work on a key climate policies including an ambitious climate accountability act and doing everything I can to ensure that CleanBC is fully implemented.”

 

Weaver’s decision will not immediately affect the landscape at the BC Legislature as the NDP will stay on in power with the support of the Greens.