A Vernon business owner is planting the seed for her to enter federal politics.

Rachel Enns will seek the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) candidate nomination for the newly created Vernon-Lake Country-Monashee riding for the 2025 federal vote.

Enns, and her husband, Josh, have built a successful forestry seedling nursery the past 21 years, employing hundreds of local residents. The couple grow coniferous trees for B.C. reforestation, estimating they鈥檝e produced 55 million trees for the forests of B.C.

Politics have always been on the radar for Enns.

As a young child, when people asked, 鈥榃hat do you want to be when you grow up?鈥� she would reply, 鈥業 want to be Prime Minister of Canada.鈥�

鈥淢y primary reason for running to be the candidate for Vernon-Lake Country-Monashee is to pursue legislation that will bring more accountability and transparency to the Government of Canada,鈥� said Enns. 鈥淩epresenting the people and communities of the Vernon-Lake Country-Monashee riding will be an honour and privilege.鈥�

Enns grew up watching the examples of her great-uncle, the Right Honourable Alvin Hamilton, who served as Agriculture Minister for Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, and her mother, who volunteered in local election campaigns.

As her children grew more independent, Enns was available to spend time working towards electing Conservative MPs and crafting policy to benefit Canadians.

In 2019, she began volunteering for the North Okanagan Shuswap Conservative Association (NOSCA) to re-elect federal Conservative Mel Arnold as Member of Parliament. In 2021, she served as the assistant campaign manager for Arnold鈥檚 re-election campaign, managing the Vernon office.

Enns then stepped forward to chair the policy and constitution committee for the NOSCA Electoral District Association, writing several policies that were advanced to the 2021 Conservative national policy convention. Her focus was on ethics breaches within government, and implementing consequences for gross violations of the Conflicts of Interest Act.

Her policy passed with nearly 90 per cent of delegates voting in favour. The policy was picked up and implemented in the 2021 Conservative election campaign platform.

Enns campaigned as a candidate to represent B.C. on the national policy committee for the CPC, voted in by the EDA presidents of B.C.

Away from politics and trees, Enns is a certified B.C. teacher, returning to the classroom several years ago as an occasional teacher for Vernon Christian School.

She has been an active volunteer her whole life.

鈥淰olunteerism is a hallmark of my dedication and service,鈥� said Enns. 鈥淚 have volunteered in numerous children and youth programs for decades. In addition, I鈥檓 engaged in community advocacy and fundraising for charitable causes.鈥�

Current City of Vernon councillor Teresa Durning, and former councillor Scott Anderson, have also put their names forward for the Conservative Party seat in the Vernon-Lake Country-Monashee riding.