Carole James (born 1958) is the current leader of the New Democratic Party of British Columbia, a social democratic political party in British Columbia (BC), Canada.

She served on the Greater Victoria school board from 1990 to 2001, with seven terms as chair, and gained a province-wide profile in her unprecedented five terms as president of the BC School Trustee's Association. She has also served at the national level as vice-president of the Canadian School Boards Association.

She was elected leader of the provincial New Democratic Party in November 2003, in a leadership race that received little attention. Following the party's massive defeat in the 2001 British Columbia election, many political pundits have argued the NDP requires strong leadership if it hopes to regain power. No former NDP politicians ran for leader however, and James remains a largely unknown figure to many British Columbians. Her greatest challenge at the moment is raising her public profile and creating a clear party agenda in time for the 2005 provincial election.

James is a Métis and a divorced mother of two.

External links

• Official site of the B.C. New Democratic Party