Photo: @ThomasforBC

Thomas Martin.

The BC Green Party has announced more candidates in the upcoming provincial election, including the Kamloops-North Thompson and Fraser-Nicola ridings.

Thomas Martin will represent the Greens in Kamloops-North Thompson, according to a tweet from the party today.

"I'm running because I do want to see a change," Martin tells Castanet Kamloops. "I do want to see a difference in the way that politics happens in our province. I work in forestry, my job is dependent on forestry. My job is dependent on healthy ecosystems. I really want to see things done differently in forestry in this province."

Martin was born and raised in Vancouver and moved to Kamloops in 2011 to work as a wildfire fighter. He used that job to put himself through UBC, where he studied natural resource sciences, according to a write-up from the party.

In 2016, Martin left wildfire fighting to pursue other forestry work.

“This work took him all over the province: planning harvesting in coastal old-growth on Vancouver Island, flying drones for surveys in Clearwater, delivering training in Dawson Creek, and wildfire fighting during the 2017 and 2018 fire seasons. Thomas was proud to work with members of the Canadian Armed Forces on a fire near Merritt in 2018,” the bio reads.

Martin currently works as a wildfire project manager for Cabin Resource Management.

He joins BC Liberal incumbent Peter Milobar and BC NDP candidate Sadie Hunter.

"Running crossed my mind the evening of the election call. I had previously indicated to the Kamloops Green Party that I would be interested in getting involved. Then I received a phone call on Wednesday and was asked to run," Martin continues. 

"I felt like it was my job to step up and do this. It's a really challenging time because I am working full-time and my partner is working full-time but I felt like it was my job to step up and do this," he adds.

In the last provincial election, Dan Hines ran in that riding; Hines is running in Kamloops-South Thompson this time. He's running against incumbent Todd Stone this year. The NDP hasn't announced a nominee for the southern riding yet.

In the Fraser-Nicola riding, Jonah Timms will be carrying the Green banner. Incumbent Jackie Tegart is running again for the Liberals, along with Aaron Sumexheltza for the NDP.