Six candidates named in Vernon-Lake Country-Monashee federal riding

Six candidates have been named in the Vernon-Lake Country-Monashee federal riding for the April 28 federal election.

The riding is new and largely replaces the previous North Okanagan-Shuswap riding, which was split into three ridings during the 2022 Canada Federal Electoral redistribution process. 

The riding now includes a portion of the West Kootenays, including the communities of Krestova, Nakusp, and New Denver, which used to be part of the Columbia-Kootenay riding, now known as Columbia-Kootenay Southern Rockies. 

It also includes Electoral Areas H and K in the Regional District of Central Kootenay. 

Candidates 

Conservative Party of Canada 

Scott Anderson has been chosen as the Conservative Party candidate for this riding. 

Anderson is a two-term Vernon City Councillor, business owner, and former interim leader of the BC Conservative Party, a role he held from 2017 to 2018. 

New Democratic Party (NDP) 

Leah Main will also be on the April 28 election ballot as the NDP candidate. 

Main is from Silverton, where she served as a councillor. She has also been a Director for the Regional District of Central Kootenay since 2011. 

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Board elected her as a Director from 2015 to 2024, where she worked alongside national leaders to advance policies that support rural communities. 

Her party says Main plays a key role in local governance and brings decades of leadership and community engagement to her role as a public servant. 

Green Party of Canada 

For the Green Party, Blair Visscher has entered the race. 

Visscher is a former high school social studies teacher and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Sustainability at the University of British Columbia Okanagan.  

She also works with the Living with Wildfires in the Okanagan research group. 

Her party says that if elected, Visscher will work to support local farmers in adapting to climate change, fight for real solutions to the housing and cost-of-living crisis, improve public transportation, and promote community resilience. 

Liberal Party of Canada 

The Liberal Party has selected Anna Warwick Sears as its candidate for the Vernon-Lake Country-Monashee riding. 

The party describes Warwick Sears as an accomplished collaborator who has worked with various government agencies, private organizations, academics, and volunteer boards across Canada. 

Warwick Sears grew up on Kootenay Lake and now resides in Coldstream. 

She was the Executive Director of the Okanagan Basin Water Board, a local government agency focused on Okanagan water sustainability. 

She also received a PhD in population biology at the University of California, Davis, returning to Canada in 2006 to work for the Water Board. 

People’s Party of Canada (PPC) 

Arsh Dhillon is the People’s Party of Canada (PPC) candidate for the riding. 

The party states that Dhillon has firsthand experience with the impact of Ottawa’s mismanagement, including soaring housing costs, long healthcare wait times, and the threat of wildfires. 

Dhillon is running to restore true conservative values, focusing on fiscal responsibility, limited government, national sovereignty, and bold action to protect Canadian jobs. 

He believes that immigrants should respect Canadian values and contribute positively, rather than strain resources or take opportunities from locals. 

Independent Candidate 

The final name voters will see on the ballot is independent candidate Korry Zepik. 

According to his website, Zepik grew up in rural Northwestern Ontario near Thunder Bay. 

Zepik has worked at copper and uranium mines, high-lead logging on the North Pacific Coast, built communications towers, installed reinforcing steel, erected structural iron, and installed solar power systems throughout western Canada. 

He was also a skiing instructor at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary from 1984 to 1988, which was key to his progress onto the National Freestyle Ski Team, of which he was a member for five years. 

However, it was his experience installing concrete reinforcing steel at an oil sands refinery that motivated him to learn more about oil and gas alternatives, prompting the start of his political career. 

He says the world has changed greatly, and so has society. He’s dedicated to growing the Canadian economy to make it stronger and more self-reliant. 

Election Date 

The 2025 Canada Federal Election is scheduled for April 28. 

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