Lake Country

Template:Use Canadian English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Template other Lake Country is a district municipality with a population of approximately 15,000 in the Okanagan Valley region of British Columbia, Canada. It is a part of the Central Okanagan Regional District, and of the Kelowna metropolitan area. 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 defines the western boundary of the municipality, while the entirety of Wood Lake and the southernmost portion of Kalamalka Lake are encompassed by it.

Lake Country was incorporated in 1995. The previously unincorporated communities of Winfield, Okanagan Centre, Oyama, and Carr's Landing were united to form the new municipality, and they remain as separate wards within it. In the municipal government, one councillor is drawn from each of these wards, while the mayor and two additional councillors are elected by the people at large.

Wards

Lake Country is the only municipality in the province of British Columbia to have the ward system.

The four wards of Lake Country are:

• Okanagan Centre
  Okanagan Centre
• Carr's Landing
  Carr's Landing
• Oyama
  Oyama
• Winfield
  Winfield

Demographics

In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada, Lake Country had a population of 15,817 living in 6,204 of its 6,852 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 12,922. With a land area of Template:Cvt, it had a population density of Template:Pop density in 2021.

Statistics Canada 2006 census:

Age

• Median Age: 43.2
• Aged 15 and Over: 83.4%

Immigration

• Canadian Born: 8360 (87.6%)
• Immigrated pre-1991: 950 (10.0%)
• Immigrated 1991–2006: 225 (2.4%)

Income

• Average Earnings: $24,654 (employed – 6,150 people)
• Average Earnings: $40,040 (employed full-time, year-round – 2,975 people)
• Median Income, Persons Aged 15 and Over: $25,477 (7,650 people)

Ethnicity

Panethnic groups in the District of Lake Country (1996–2021)

Panethnic group	2021		2016		2011		2006		2001		1996
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
EuropeanTemplate:Efn	13,665		11,390		10,620		8,900		8,835		8,630
Indigenous	970		740		405		290		265		125
South Asian	315		165		180		115		85		70
East AsianTemplate:Efn	275		145		55		110		25		105
Southeast AsianTemplate:Efn	135		120		20		10		20		10
Latin American	100		65		25		15		0		0
Middle EasternTemplate:Efn	65		10		0		60		10		0
African	60		30		0		15		20		0
Other/MultiracialTemplate:Efn	40		65		40		35		0		20
Total responses	15,630		12,725		11,360		9,545		9,260		8,965
Total population	15,817		12,922		11,708		9,606		9,267		9,007
Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses

Religion

According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Lake Country included:

• Irreligion (9,080 persons or 58.1%)
• Christianity (6,060 persons or 38.8%)
• Sikhism (170 persons or 1.1%)
• Hinduism (55 persons or 0.4%)
• Buddhism (35 persons or 0.2%)
• Islam (35 persons or 0.2%)
• Judaism (25 persons or 0.2%)
• Other (155 persons or 1.0%)

According to the 2001 Canadian census, religious groups in Lake Country included:

• 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%)

Government

File:The New Highway upgrade at Lake Country Okanagan Valley, BC, Canada.jpg

Highway 97 at Lake Country

Municipal

Municipal elections were held on October 15, 2022. Blair Ireland ran unopposed and was declared mayor.

Two councillors at-large were elected: Michael Lewis and Bib Patel. Representing the wards of the municipality are: Heather Irvine, Winfield; Tricia Brett, Okanagan Centre; Cara Reed, Carr's Landing; Todd McKenzie, Oyama.

Provincial

Lake Country federal election results

Year		Liberal		Conservative		New Democratic		Green
rowspan="2" style="width: 0.25em; background-color: Template:Canadian party colour|	2021	Template:Canadian party colour | 22%	1,848	Template:Canadian party colour | 51%	4,182	Template:Canadian party colour | 15%	1,235	Template:Canadian party colour | 4%	312
2019	Template:Canadian party colour | 30%	2,412	Template:Canadian party colour | 48%	3,892	Template:Canadian party colour | 10%	844	Template:Canadian party colour | 9%	705

Lake Country provincial election results

Year		New Democratic		BC Liberal		Green
rowspan="2" style="width: 0.25em; background-color: Template:Canadian party colour|	2020	Template:Canadian party colour | 24%	1,271	Template:Canadian party colour | 56%	2,933	Template:Canadian party colour | 16%	849
2017	Template:Canadian party colour | 19%	970	Template:Canadian party colour | 59%	3,062	Template:Canadian party colour | 22%	1,114

Provincially, Lake Country is part of the constituency of Kelowna—Lake Country, this seat having been occupied by Norm Letnick of the BC Liberal Party since May 2009.

Federal

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. Tracy Gray of the Conservative Party was first elected as MP in October 2019.

Education

Public education in Lake Country is provided by School District 23 Central Okanagan. Three elementary schools are located in the Municipality: Davidson Road Elementary, Oyama Traditional School, and Peter Greer Elementary. All three cover Kindergarten to Grade 5. H.S Grenda Middle School covers Grades 6 to 8. Lake Country is also home to George Elliot Secondary, which covers Grades 9 to 12.

The two largest institutions providing post-secondary education in the area of Lake Country are UBC Okanagan, the campus which lies in north Kelowna, and Okanagan College, which has campuses in Kelowna and Coldstream.

Transportation

Lake Country is situated on the major north-south route through the Okanagan valley, Highway 97, approximately 15 km of which lies within the municipality, passing through Winfield and Oyama. To the south, the highway provides a route to Kelowna, whose downtown core is 20 km south of the municipal boundary. Glenmore Road provides an alternate route to Kelowna. To the north, the highway leads to Vernon, whose downtown is 15 km north of the municipal boundary. Vernon can also be accessed via Commonage Road. Until 2013, the highway was only four-laned through Winfield and north of Oyama, while the section from Winfield to Oyama was two-laned. This two-laned section of Highway 97 became notorious for several major accidents and congestion and the highway was upgraded to a four-lane limited-access road, officially opened on August 16, 2013. The new highway was relocated further to the west of Wood Lake and the old highway was renamed to Pelmewash Parkway to accommodate a future recreational corridor.

A regular public bus service by Kelowna Regional Transit System, route 23, is available from Winfield to Kelowna at the UBC Okanagan exchange. A less frequent peak hour express service by Vernon Regional Transit System, route 90, is also available, connecting Oyama and Winfield with Vernon and UBC Okanagan exchange. A new bus service, route 32, establishes connections throughout the various communities in Lake Country.

Lake Country is in close proximity to Kelowna International Airport, which lies only 8 km to the south, and provides regular service to major cities such as Vancouver, Victoria, Seattle, Los Angeles, Calgary, Edmonton, and Toronto.

Accolades

In 2016, Lake Country was one of five communities in British Columbia honoured with the Small Business Roundtable's Open for Business Award in recognition of local efforts to foster economic growth.

External links

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