“I’ve been around politics for a very long time, very interested in politics and very supportive of politicians in government,” DeSantis told KTW. “I’m at a point in my life where I have the experience, strength and confidence to be able to, I believe, move successfully forward and make a difference in our community.” DeSantis is originally from the Prairies, where she was born in Saskatoon and grew up in Calgary. She has been a member of the Conservative Party of Canada for about six months. DeSantis unsuccessfully sought a nomination in 2015 for the provincial Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta. She described the timing of her decision to seek the nomination locally as one that has always been discussed around the table for “quite a while.”