Lake Country, British Columbia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Motto: | |
|
|
Census Division | |
Regional District | Central Okanagan |
Area: | 122.16 km² |
Founded | |
Incorporated | 1995 |
Population:
District Municipality Population |
9,267 (2001) |
Population density: | 75.9/km² |
Time zone: | Pacific: UTC -8 |
Postal code span: | |
Latitude: |
|
Elevation: | m MSL |
Highways | Highway 97 |
Waterways | Kalamalka Lake Okanagan Lake Wood Lake |
Mayor: | |
Governing body: | Lake Country Council |
|
|
1(sc) According to the Canada 2001 Census. 2(gr) Geographic references.Template help Edit Template |
Lake Country is a District Municipality with a population of approximately 10,000 in the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada. The city of Kelowna lies to the south, while the city of Vernon lies to the north. As its name suggests, there are a number of lakes in the vicinity of Lake Country, and outside the municipal boundaries in the hills to the east. Okanagan Lake acts as the western boundary of the municipality, while the entirety of Wood Lake and the southern-most portion of Kalamalka Lake are encompassed by it.
Incorporated in 1995, the previously unincorporated communities of Winfield, Okanagan Centre, Oyama, and Carr's Landing remain as separate wards within Lake Country. In the municipal government, one councillor is drawn from each of these wards, while the mayor, and two further councillors are elected by the people at large.
[edit] Demographics
(from Statistics Canada - 2001 Community Profile)
(Note that population figures for most categories have been rounded to the nearest 5.)
Population: 9,267
Population Change (1996-2001): 2.9%
Land Area (square km) : 122.16
Age
- Median Age: 40.5
- Aged 15 and Over: 81.4%
Immigration
- Canadian Born: 7,905 (85.3%)
- Immigrated pre-1991: 1,115 (12.0%)
- Immigrated 1991-2001: 230 (2.5%)
Aboriginals & Visible Minorities
- Aboriginal: 265 (2.9%)
- South Asian: 85 (0.9%)
- Japanese: 25 (0.3%)
- Other: 50 (0.5%)
Income
- Average Earnings: $26,050 (employed - 5,395 people)
- Average Earnings: $38,495 (employed full-time, year-round - 2,515 people)
- Median Income, Persons Aged 15 and Over: $20,788 (7,175 people)
Religion
- No Religion: 3,585 (38.7%)
- Protestant: 3,310 (35.7%)
- Roman Catholic 1535 (16.6%)
- other Christian: 580 (6.3%)
- other religions: 240 (2.6%)
[edit] Government
Municipal elections were last held in November 2005. At that time, James Baker was elected mayor. Representing the four wards of the municipality are Alice Rees (Okanagan Centre), Barbara Leamont (Carr's Landing), Bill Clark (Winfield), and Noreen Guenther (Oyama). The two councillors at large are Thomas Witty, and Penny Gambell. The next round of municipal elections is scheduled for November 2008.
Provincially, Lake Country is part of the constituency of Kelowna - Lake Country, this seat having been occupied by Al Horning of the BC Liberal Party since May 2005. The next provincial election is scheduled for May 2009.
Federally, Lake Country is part of the riding of Kelowna - Lake Country. Despite the similarity in nomenclature, the federal riding encompasses a greater area and population than its provincial counterpart. Ron Cannan of the Conservatives was elected as MP in January 2006.