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As leader of the New Democratic Party of British Columbia, Carole James is also Leader of the Official Opposition in the BC legislature. She assumed the NDP leadership in 2003. James has been an MLA since 2005.

In the May 17, 2005 election, the NDP fared well under Carole James’s leadership. They garnered 41.52 percent of the popular vote (a 19.96 percent increase from the 2001 election results), which earned them 33 out of 79 seats. James also won her Victoria—Beacon Hill riding with 57.21 percent of the vote, defeating incumbent BC Liberal MLA Jeff Bray by a margin of almost 2 to 1.

James has a reputation for being tough as well as compassionate. She was elected leader of the New Democratic Party of BC on November 23, 2003. In the 2001 provincial election, the NDP won two seats. During that election, James was unsuccessful in her bid for the riding of Victoria—Beacon Hill. During her campaign to win the party leadership, James urged the Party to modernize its ideology and internal structures, and to build a broader support base.

After her unsuccessful election bid in 2001, James moved to Prince George, BC to serve as the Director of Child and Family Services for Carrier Sekani Family Services. As part of her management responsibilities, she coordinated planning for the regionalization of child and family services that were transferred from the Ministry of Children and Families to an Aboriginal authority. In July 2003, she became Coordinator with the Northern Aboriginal Authority for Families. Only a few months later, she re-entered politics.

James was born in Dukenfield, England on December 22, 1957, but was raised in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, and in Victoria, British Columbia. James has a long record of service with the BC School Trustees Association, serving as President for five terms, beginning in 1995. She was a member of the Greater Victoria School Board from 1990-2001, and was also involved at the national level, serving as the Vice-President of the Canadian School Boards Association.

James, who is part Métis, has two children: Alison and Evan. She has also been a foster parent for more than two decades, giving care to children and adults with special needs. On May 22, 2004, she married Albert Gerow, an artist and former Burns Lake, BC municipal councillor and RCMP officer. On July 13, 2006, James announced publicly that she had been diagnosed with localized uterine endometrial cancer, for which she was treated successfully.