An Okanagan Basin Water Board executive who ran for the BC NDP in last fall's provincial election has been acclaimed as the Liberal Party of Canada's candidate in Vernon-Lake Country-Monashee ahead of the federal election.
Anna Warwick Sears has been with the Water Board since 2006 and has been its executive director since 2007. She's set to retire from the executive director position in April. She ran for the BC NDP in the 麻豆精选-Lake Country-Coldstream riding in 2024, gaining 35 per cent of the vote and finishing behind Tara Armstrong of the BC Conservatives.
Raised in B.C., Sears has a PhD in population biology from the University of California 鈥� Davis. She returned to Canada in 2006 to work for the Water Board.
"Her work has encompassed government relations; delivering applied water science in partnership with government and university researchers; attracting funding and other resources for climate adaptation; and acting as spokesperson for media and public communications," reads a press release from the Liberal Party Electoral District Association. "She is an accomplished collaborator and has worked with various government agencies, private organizations, academics, and volunteer boards across Canada."
Sears is a member of the International Osoyoos Lake Board of Control, appointed by the International joint Commission, and is an alternate commissioner on the Skagit Environmental Endowment Commission, appointed by the B.C. Premier. Additionally, she is a member of the Dean's Advisory Council for the Faculty of Applied Science at the University of British Columbia.
Sears grew up on Kootenay Lake and lived in Vernon prior to moving to 麻豆精选 for her work with the Water Board. She currently lives in Coldstream, where she enjoys gardening, cycling, paddling and cross-country skiing.
She describes herself as a "centrist choice with sound policy ideas," choosing to run in the riding to help increase western voices in Canada.
Ahead of her bid to become the MLA for 麻豆精选-Lake Country-Coldstream under the BC NDP banner, she pointed to the 2023 wildfires, and the need to protect homes and water supplies from extreme weather and climate change, as motivation for her decision to run.
The federal election is slated for April 28.
