Vernon--Lake Country--Monashee

Vernon--Lake Country--Monashee is a new federal riding in British Columbia's Interior, created through the 2022 redistribution. It largely replaces the former North Okanagan--Shuswap riding, which was split into three new constituencies. The riding centres on the city of Vernon and the District Municipality of Lake Country, stretching east across the Monashee Mountains to encompass West Kootenay communities including Nakusp, New Denver, and Silverton in the Slocan Valley. The landscape ranges from Okanagan vineyards and orchards to alpine forests and lakeside communities, spanning a drive of more than four hours from end to end.

Candidates

Scott Anderson (Conservative) is a Vernon businessman, former military officer, and two-term Vernon city councillor. He ran for the BC Conservatives in the 2013 provincial election and later served as interim leader of the Conservative Party of British Columbia. Anderson made an unsuccessful bid for Vernon mayor in 2022, losing to Victor Cumming. He has deep roots in the North Okanagan and campaigned on affordability, public safety, and reducing the tax burden on families and small businesses.

Anna Warwick Sears (Liberal) served as executive director of the Okanagan Basin Water Board for over 18 years, leading government relations, water science partnerships, and public communications for the region's water management authority. She holds a PhD in population biology from the University of California, Davis, and grew up on Kootenay Lake. Warwick Sears is a member of the International Osoyoos Lake Board of Control and serves on the Skagit Environmental Endowment Commission. She previously ran as a BC NDP candidate in the 2024 provincial election in Kelowna--Lake Country--Coldstream.

Leah Ellen Main (NDP) has lived in the Slocan Valley for 15 years and served as a councillor and mayor in the Village of Silverton since 2009. She spent a decade on the Federation of Canadian Municipalities board from 2015 to 2024, working with the federal government on infrastructure funding, rural healthcare access, and sustainable local economies. Originally from the United States, she immigrated to Canada in 1967. Main campaigned across the sprawling riding using a fully outfitted mobile campaign trailer.

Blair Visscher (Green Party) is a master's student in sustainability at the University of British Columbia Okanagan and a former high school social studies teacher. She holds degrees in political science and education, and works with the Living with Wildfires in the Okanagan research group. Raised in the Kootenays, she has lived in the Vernon area for eight years, where she is raising two children. Her campaign focused on wildfire preparedness, drought resilience, and housing affordability.

About the Riding

Vernon, the riding's population centre, sits at the northern end of Okanagan Lake and serves as the commercial and services hub for the North Okanagan. The city's economy blends agriculture, tourism, and light industry, with orchards, vineyards, and dairy farms surrounding the urban core. Lake Country, to the south, straddles the corridor between Vernon and Kelowna and has experienced rapid residential growth as families seek more affordable housing within commuting distance of the Central Okanagan.

The riding's eastern reaches extend into the West Kootenays, incorporating the small communities along the Arrow Lakes and Slocan Lake. These areas have historically relied on forestry and mining, though tourism and retirement living have grown in importance. The inclusion of these Kootenay communities in the new riding marked a significant geographic expansion from the old North Okanagan--Shuswap boundaries.

In 2025, the riding's key issues reflected its Interior character. Wildfire risk was a persistent concern, with recent fire seasons having devastated communities and strained local resources. Water management and drought were closely watched in the Okanagan, where agricultural livelihoods depend on reliable water supply. Healthcare access was a major issue, particularly for rural communities distant from hospitals in Vernon and Kelowna. Housing affordability, once considered a coastal concern, had become acute throughout the Okanagan corridor as population growth outpaced housing supply.