As political winds shift across Canada, two very different but equally youthful movements are reshaping the conversation in their respective provinces. In British Columbia, the Green Party is betting its future on a new generation of leaders, while in Quebec, a surge in pro-sovereignty sentiment among young people is prompting party leaders to rethink their strategies. Both stories, reported by The Canadian Press and CityNews, paint a picture of a political landscape where the energy and convictions of youth are front and center, but where experience and pragmatism still hold sway.
In Victoria, the B.C. Greens have kicked off a leadership race that is, by all accounts, a bold experiment in generational renewal. The average age of the contenders is just 30—a dramatic contrast to the party’s recent history. Emily Lowan, 24, and Adam Bremner-Akins, 23, are the youngest of the three candidates vying for the top job. The third, family doctor Jonathan Kerr, is 44 and jokingly refers to himself as "the old guy in the race." The previous two leaders, Sonia Furstenau and Andrew Weaver, were 54 and 59 when they stepped down, underscoring just how much the party’s leadership profile is changing.
Stuart Parker, who became the B.C. Greens leader at 21 in 1993, sees both opportunity and risk in this youthful turn. "So yes, I got in as the young, radical urbanite, but I maintained my leadership of that party for seven years by spending my time on the road," Parker reflected, according to The Canadian Press. He emphasized that age alone is not enough—what matters is connecting with people on the ground, a lesson he hopes the new contenders will heed.
The party is clearly leaning into the youth movement, not just rhetorically but also logistically. Membership is free for anyone aged 14 to 29, and voting in the leadership contest is open to members as young as 16. The leadership vote runs from September 13 to 23, with the result to be announced on September 24, 2025. It’s a strategy that mirrors moves by other parties: the NDP allowed members as young as 12 to vote in its 2022 leadership contest, and the Conservatives set the bar at 14 in their 2023 race.
Lowan, whose background includes work as an organizer with Climate Action Network Canada, is confident in her qualifications. "I absolutely think I am, and I don't think that is just arrogance," she told The Canadian Press, citing a decade of experience as a movement-builder, campaigner, and policy researcher. Bremner-Akins, a student with experience on the party’s provincial council and two runs as a candidate, echoed that sentiment: "It's not always used on the younger end of the spectrum, but age is just a number. Whether you are in your 60s, 70s, 80s or 20s—it is just a number, and I have been through a lot. If people want to know, I'm seasoned. I have been fired for union organizing. I have taken on roles inside the party. I have run for election."
Yet, for all the fresh energy, there are challenges. The Greens’ vote share in the last election dropped from about 15 percent to just above eight percent, a sobering result in an increasingly polarized political environment. Neither of the party’s two sitting MLAs, Rob Botterell and interim leader Jeremy Valeriote, are running for leader this time around. As UBC political science lecturer Stewart Prest put it, having two candidates in their twenties is a "silver lining"—a chance for renewal and to stand apart from the NDP and Conservatives—but it also "makes it that much harder to make the claim that they're a party ready to govern."
Jonathan Kerr, a twice-elected municipal councillor and vice-chair of the Comox Valley Regional District, disagrees with the notion that the Greens should focus only on regions where they’ve traditionally been strong. "There is Green support everywhere," he said, pointing to voters in northern and central B.C. who want forestry practices that emphasize conservation and value-added production. Kerr’s platform is rooted in environmental protection and building a "clean economy, a new economy that's better." He also praised his younger rivals, saying he would work to get them elected as MLAs if he wins.
Lowan, meanwhile, is running with a mission: "to bring this party back to life," reconnect with social and climate movements, and "be a strong thorn in the side of the governing party." She argues the Greens need to move "in lockstep" with young people, workers, renters, and Indigenous communities, and to challenge powerful interests: "to challenge the oligarchs that really run the show in the premier's office." Bremner-Akins added that the party needs a leader "who lives with the problems we're facing in the province, whether that's housing affordability, the rising cost of living, the existential threat of climate change we're facing."
Prest notes that the presence of younger candidates could be an "area of potential growth for the Greens"—attracting young, progressive voters who feel let down by the NDP on issues like the environment and energy. Still, he cautions there’s no guarantee the next leader will even win a seat in the legislature.
Across the country in Quebec, the youth movement is taking a different form. Here, it’s not about who leads the party, but about the growing support among young people for Quebec sovereignty. According to a CROP poll cited by The Canadian Press, 56 percent of 18-34 year olds favor sovereignty, though only 47 percent say they would vote Yes in a referendum. The poll, conducted in July and August 2025 among 1,000 respondents, has prompted Liberal leader Pablo Rodriguez to speak out forcefully against what he sees as an oversimplification of the issue.
"The PQ often presents sovereignty as if it were a magic wand, a solution to everything," Rodriguez said in an interview with The Canadian Press. "But separating won’t solve the housing shortage. Separating won’t make it easier for our young people to buy their first home. Sovereignty won’t make Donald Trump or inflation disappear, and it won’t make us feel the effects of climate change any less."
Rodriguez, who met with young activists at the Youth Commission convention in Gatineau on the weekend of August 16, 2025, is keen to counter the Parti Québécois’ message. He argues that the current CAQ government, led by François Legault, is an "objective ally" of the PQ because it "always blames Canada and spends its time demonizing Canada rather than finding solutions." Rodriguez stops short of blaming the federal Liberal Party for the rise in separatist sentiment, but he does acknowledge that Quebec has lost its leadership role within Canada under the CAQ.
To address young people’s concerns, Rodriguez has proposed doubling the tax credit for first-time home buyers and promises a "series of measures" to come. Still, he faces an uphill battle: the poll numbers suggest that the sovereignty debate is far from settled, and the next election—just over a year away—will likely hinge on how effectively each party connects with the aspirations and anxieties of Quebec’s youth.
In both provinces, the political future is being shaped by young people—whether as candidates, voters, or the focus of passionate debate. As the B.C. Greens prepare to announce their new leader and Quebec’s parties gear up for an election with sovereignty at its heart, one thing is clear: the next generation is no longer waiting in the wings.
