B.C. Green Party MLA Adam Olsen will not run again in this fall's provincial election.
Olsen has been the MLA for Saanich North and the Islands since 2017 and is currently one of only two Green Party members in the legislature.
In a news conference announcing the decision, he cited timing of his son's graduation next year, his daughter starting high school, and his own mental and physical well-being, as being factors.
But Olsen also said it has been a challenging year because of three deaths. He says the deaths were all fathers who leave young children behind and it put him into an “existential revaluation.”
“So I began asking myself, how much do my children actually know me? Really, for the first time, I allowed myself to consider how much elected public life dictated the mood, the availability, and the actions of our family. I became much more thoughtful about the impact that it was having on my partner, Emily.”
The Green Party says Olsen will assume the role of B.C. Green Party Campaign Chair
Prior to his time in provincial politics, Olsen was a councilor in Central Saanich.