City of Kelowna | |||
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Province | ![]() |
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Regional District | Central Okanagan | ||
Settled | 1879 | ||
Incorporated | 1905 | ||
Government | |||
- Mayor | Sharon Shepherd | ||
- Governing Body | Kelowna City Council | ||
- MP | Ron Cannan | ||
- MLAs | Sindi Hawkins Al Horning |
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Area | |||
- City | 211.69 km² (81.7 sq mi) | ||
Elevation | 344 m (1,129 ft) | ||
Population (2006) | |||
- City | 106,707 | ||
- Density | 504.1/km² (1,305.6/sq mi) | ||
- Metro | 162,276 | ||
- Metro Density | 55.9/km² (144.8/sq mi) | ||
Time zone | Pacific Time Zone (UTC-8) | ||
- Summer (DST) | Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7) | ||
Postal code span | V1P, V1V - V1Z | ||
Area code(s) | +1-250 - 778 | ||
Website: City of Kelowna |
Kelowna (2007 population 106,707, metropolitan population of 165,596) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada. Its name derives from a native term for "female grizzly bear." Kelowna ranks as the 22nd largest metropolitan area in Canada.
Nearby communities include Westside to the west across the lake, Lake Country and then Vernon to the north, Westbank and then Peachland to the southwest and further to the south, Summerland and Penticton.
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French Roman Catholic missionaries arriving in 1859 were the first Europeans to settle at Kelowna, a place they dubbed "L'anse au sable" (Bay of Sand) in reference to the sandy shoreline. Kelowna was officially incorporated in 1905.
The service industry employs the most people in Kelowna, the largest city in the tourist-oriented Okanagan Valley. In summer, boating, golf, hiking and biking are popular, and in winter, both Alpine skiing and Nordic skiing are favorite activities at the nearby Big White Ski Resort and Silver Star Ski Resort.
Kelowna produces wines that have a worldwide reputation. Vineyards are common around and south of the city where the climate is ideal for the many wineries. Notable ones include the Mission Hill Estate Winery, specifically for its unique architectural design. However, at least two major wineries were damaged or destroyed in 2003 due to the Okanagan Mountain Park Fire. Kelowna is also the home of Sun-Rype, a popular manufacturer of fruit juice and snacks.
With roots dating back to 1965, Okanagan College is the predominant centre for vocational and undergraduate post-secondary education in Kelowna. With over 5000 full-time students it constitutes the largest college in British Columbia outside the Lower Mainland and Victoria. The University of British Columbia took over the North Kelowna campus of Okanagan University College (now Okanagan College) on July 1, 2005. While UBCO continues to offer many of OUC's undergraduate programs, UBC Okanagan also offers Engineering and Management undergraduate programs and has developed Graduate programs in most disciplines.
Kelowna is the seat of the Regional District of the Central Okanagan, the third-largest metropolitan area in British Columbia (after Vancouver and Victoria), and the largest in the British Columbia Interior. With scenic lake vistas and a dry, mild climate, Kelowna has become one of the fastest growing cities in North America. The appropriate management of such rapid development (and its attendant consequences) is a source of significant debate within the community. Kelowna is the second most expensive housing market in Canada (behind Vancouver).[1] Also, Kelowna is the least affordable housing market in Canada and 13th in the world. It is classified as "Severely Unaffordable".[2] Because of the Okanagan's climate and vineyard-filled scenery, it has been compared to California.
Kelowna was home to the late Premier of British Columbia, W.A.C. Bennett and is the birthplace of his son, William R. Bennett, who also served as Premier of the province.
Former Major League Baseball players, Jeff Zimmerman of the Texas Rangers, his brother Jordan Zimmerman, and Paul Spoljaric were born here. The city is also home to The Grapes of Wrath, one of Canada's most popular rock bands in the 1980s and early 1990s. The 2007 World Women's Curling Championship winning Kelly Scott rink is based in Kelowna. Evangeline Lilly of the hit TV show Lost was discovered on the streets of Kelowna. Many National Hockey League players also reside in Kelowna, including Dany Heatley, Wade Redden, Trevor Linden, Jarome Iginla, Josh Gorges, Blake Comeau, Shea Weber. Rock singer Paul Rodgers also calls Kelowna home.
According to the Statistics Canada 2001 census[3], the population estimates there were 96,288 people residing in Kelowna and 147,739 people residing in the Greater Kelowna Area. 48.4% of residents were male and 51.6% were female. Children under five accounted for approximately 4.8% of the resident population of Kelowna. This compares with 5.2% in British Columbia, and 5.6% for Canada overall.
In mid-2001, 18.4% of the resident population in Kelowna were of retirement age (65 and over for males and females) compared with 13.2% in Canada, therefore, the average age is 41.1 years of age comparing to 37.6 years of age for all of Canada.
In the five years between 1996 and 2001, the population of Kelowna grew by 8.2%, compared with an increase of 4.9% for British Columbia as a whole. Population density of Kelowna averaged 50.9 people per square kilometre, compared with an average of 4.2, for British Columbia altogether.
Population Growth
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For years, only one major highway passed through the city of Kelowna: Highway 97. The road itself is good, but its connections to all points east and west in the province were only managed by using the slow, curving Trans Canada Highway and the Crowsnest Highway.
As the Okanagan Valley is a popular getaway for residents in Vancouver, a new freeway was built into the BC interior in 1986, eliminating over two hours of travel time between the two major destinations. This freeway, starting in Hope, is known as the Coquihalla Highway (Hwy 5), and terminates in Kamloops. This new freeway system allows one to drive the 425 kilometres from Vancouver to Kelowna in just under four hours.
A spur route, The Okanagan Connector, or Hwy 97C, was later added in 1989; it connects in Merritt, and heads eastward to Peachland, about twenty minutes south of Kelowna.
Kelowna is connected to Westside by the new five lane William R. Bennett bridge which officially opened May 25, 2008. This new bridge now links Highway 97 to the southern Okanagan and the Coquihala connector. The old floating bridge is currently being dismantled as it has outlived its usefulness and is incapable of supporting the current traffic levels. The new William R. Bennett bridge has helped to alleviate some traffic congestion but ongoing roadwork on interchanges, the restructuring of traffic lights and other improvements are underway on HWY 97 on both the Kelowna East and Westside West of the bridge. This stretch of Highway 97 continues to be one of the province's busiest traffic arteries and improvements will be necessary to keep up with the ever increasing population and the ever expanding tourist traffic to this area.
Highway 33, which connects with Highway 97 in Rutland, provides an alternate way to enter and exit the city, towards the southeast.
Kelowna International Airport, north of the downtown core, has regular flights to and from Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria, Las Vegas, Honolulu and Seattle, as well as seasonal service to Mexico.
Relative to most Canadian cities, Kelowna enjoys a dry climate and mild temperatures (Mean Annual Temperature = 7.7 °C (45.9 °F), January Mean Temperature = −3.8 °C (25.2 °F); Mean July Temperature = 19.1 °C (66.4 °F)) but this is recorded at the Kelowna Airport, inland and at a higher altitude than the city core. Okanagan Lake tends to moderate the winter climate, but Arctic air occasionally penetrates into the valley during winter (coldest recorded temperature = −36.1 °C (−33.0 °F), 30 December 1968). Summers are hot and sunny, with daytime temperatures often exceeding 35 °C (95.0 °F) (hottest recorded temperature = 39.5 °C (103.1 °F), 24 July 1994). Nighttime temperatures in summer are cool due to the dry environment. The city averages about 300 millimetres (12 in) of precipitation per year, with about 1/3 of the precipitation falling as snow, the bulk in December and January.
Although Kelowna averages 300.5 hours of bright sunshine in July (61% of daylight hours), the early winter months are mostly overcast; thus, Kelowna averages only 40.3 hours of bright sunshine in January (for comparison, consider 120 hours at Winnipeg, Manitoba and Miramichi, New Brunswick; 44 hours at Prince Rupert, British Columbia; 45 hours at Yellowknife, Northwest Territories).
(All data are derived from Environment Canada statistics for the Kelowna airport)
Kelowna is the least windy city in Canada with 39% of wind observations recorded as calm [4][5][6][7][8].
Public schools[15] Public schools in the Kelowna area are part of School District 23 Central Okanagan or School District 93 Conseil scolaire francophone:
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Private schools[16]
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Post-secondary[17]
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Kelowna has "sister city" agreements with the following cities:[20]
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Vernon |
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Westside | ![]() |
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Penticton |
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