Carr ran in the 2001 election in the riding of Powell River-Sunshine Coast, against former Liberal leader and then NDP cabinet minister Gordon Wilson. She was included in the Televised leaders' debate along with Liberal leader Gordon Campbell and Premier Ujjal Dosanjh. The Greens hoped to be viewed as a progressive alternative for voters. Carr finished third in her riding with 6316 votes (27%), against 6349 for Wilson (28%) and 9904 for victorious Liberal Harold Long. The Green Party received 12.4% of the provincial vote in this election, a significant increase from its 2% total in the 1996 election. The party's largest number of votes was received in Saanich-Gulf Islands, one of only 17 constituencies that had been voting Liberal since 1991.