Kelowna

Kelowna
City of Kelowna
From top, left to right: Downtown Kelowna from Knox Mountain Park, the peaks of Central Okanagan, Mission Hill Winery and Bell Tower, the William R. Bennett Bridge on Okanagan Lake, Okanagan Lake near Rotary Beach Park
Flag of Kelowna
Coat of arms of Kelowna
Official logo of Kelowna
Nickname(s): 
Orchard City,[1] K-Town,[2] Sun City
Motto: 
"Fruitful in Unity"
Kelowna is located in British Columbia
Kelowna
Kelowna
Location of Kelowna
Coordinates: 49°53′17″N 119°29′44″W / 49.88806°N 119.49556°W / 49.88806; -119.49556[3]
CountryCanada
ProvinceBritish Columbia
Regional districtCentral Okanagan
Settled1879
IncorporatedMay 5, 1905
Government
 • TypeElected city council
 • BodyKelowna City Council
 • MayorTom Dyas
 • MPDan Albas (CPC)
Tracy Gray (CPC)
 • MLAsNorm Letnick (BCU)
Renee Merrifield (BCU)
Ben Stewart (BCU)
Area
 (2021)[4]
 • City211.85 km2 (81.80 sq mi)
 • Metro
2,904.86 km2 (1,121.57 sq mi)
Elevation
344 m (1,129 ft)
Population
 (2021)
 • City144,576
 • Density680/km2 (1,800/sq mi)
 • Metro
222,162
 • Metro density76/km2 (200/sq mi)
 [5]
Gross Metropolitan Product
 • Kelowna CMACA$11.3 billion (2020)[6]
Time zoneUTC−08:00 (PST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−07:00 (PDT)
Forward sortation area
Area code(s)250, 778, 236, 672
GNBC CodeJAFUV[7]
Websitekelowna.ca Edit this at Wikidata

Kelowna (/kəˈlnə/ kə-LOH-nə) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna derives from the Okanagan word kiʔláwnaʔ, referring to a grizzly bear.[8][9]

Kelowna is the province's third-largest metropolitan area (after Vancouver and Victoria). At the same time, it is the seventh-largest city overall and the largest in the Interior.[10] It is the 20th-largest metropolitan area in Canada. The city proper encompasses 211.85 km2 (81.80 sq mi),[4] and the census metropolitan area 2,904.86 km2 (1,121.57 sq mi).[4] Kelowna's estimated population in 2020 is 222,748 in the metropolitan area and 142,146 in the city proper.[11] After a period of suburban expansion into the surrounding mountain slopes, the city council adopted a long-term plan intended to increase density instead — particularly in the downtown core. This has resulted in the construction of taller buildings, including One Water Street — a 36-story building that is the tallest in Kelowna.[12] Other high rise developments have already broken ground or been approved since then, including a 42-storey tower on Leon Avenue which will be the tallest building in the city, and among the tallest in B.C.[13]

Nearby communities include the City of West Kelowna (also referred to as Westbank and Westside) to the west, across Okanagan Lake; Lake Country and Vernon to the north; Peachland to the southwest; and Summerland and Penticton to the south.

  1. ^ Hall, Neal (August 27, 2005). "Fruit drove Kelowna's early economy". Vancouver Sun.
  2. ^ Peacock, Andrea (September 28, 2017). "Bacon trial: Emails show accused shooter in Kelowna night before the murder, Crown claims". Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on July 28, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  3. ^ "Kelowna". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
  4. ^ a b c "Focus on Geography Series, 2016 Census". Statistics Canada. April 23, 2017. Archived from the original on December 24, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  5. ^ Place name, postal codeOM or geographic code (February 9, 2022). "Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population". 2.statcan.gc.ca. Archived from the original on February 9, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  6. ^ "Statistics Canada. Table 36-10-0468-01 Gross domestic product (GDP) at basic prices, by census metropolitan area (CMA) (x 1,000,000)". Statistics Canada.
  7. ^ "Kelowna". Natural Resources Canada. October 6, 2016. Archived from the original on September 23, 2020. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  8. ^ "Female grizzly bear" according to "Geographical Names of British Columbia". Nrcan.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  9. ^ "Male grizzly bear" according to Mattina, Anthony (1987). Colville-Okanagan Dictionary. University of Montana.
  10. ^ "Population and dwelling counts, for census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations, 2011 and 2006 censuses". 12.statcan.gc.ca. Archived from the original on May 25, 2013. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  11. ^ "Municipal and sub-provincial areas population, 2011 to 2019". BC Stats. Archived from the original on January 29, 2020. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  12. ^ Taylor, Daniel (September 9, 2020). "Kelowna unveils ONE Water Street Development". Kelowna Capital News. Archived from the original on December 4, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  13. ^ Potenteau, Doyle (July 29, 2021). "Developer of downtown Kelowna high rise project says 1st tower sold out in 48 hours". Global News. Archived from the original on August 15, 2021. Retrieved August 15, 2021.