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 Kelowna ( ) 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 ''ki� ...

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 Wood Lake may refer to: Places in the United States * Wood Lake, Louisiana * Wood Lake, Minnesota * Wood Lake, Nebraska Lakes Canada * Wood Lake (British Columbia) United States * Wood Lake (Lyon County, Minnesota) * Wood Lake, a lake in Watonwan ...

and the southernmost portion of

Kalamalka Lake Kalamalka Lake ( "Kal Lake") is a large lake in the interior plateau of southern central British Columbia, Canada, east of Okanagan Lake. The lake is located approximately south of the city of Vernon and is its main drinking water supply. The la ...

are encompassed by it. Lake Country was incorporated in 1995. The previously unincorporated communities of

Winfield Winfield may refer to: Places Canada * Winfield, Alberta * Winfield, British Columbia United States * Winfield, Alabama * Winfield, Arkansas * Winfield, Georgia * Winfield, Illinois * Winfield, Indiana * Winfield, Iowa * Winfield, Kansas * Winfi ...

Okanagan Centre Okanagan Centre was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 1997. This riding was created in 1987 from parts of Okanagan North and Okanagan—Similkameen, an ...

, Oyama, and

Carr's Landing Carr's Landing, officially Carrs, is a neighbourhood and formal ward in District Municipality of Lake Country, which is located in the Okanagan region of British Columbia, Canada. It is located by the Okanagan Lake, east of Grant Island, and no ...

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: File:Overlooking the Lake by Okanagan Centre on a Late Winter Morning.png,

File:Overlooking Okanagan Lake by Carr's Landing in Late Winter.png,

File:Looking across frozen Kalamalka Lake from Kaloya Regional Park.png, Oyama File:Walking through the winter woods towards Winfield.png,

Demographics

In the

2021 Canadian census The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sl ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...

, 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 , it had a population density of in 2021.

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

Aboriginals & Visible Minorities (2006 census) *

Aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

: 290 (3.0%) *South Asian: 115 (1.2%) *Japanese: 75 (0.8%) *West Asian: 60 (0.6%) *Chinese: 35 (0.4%) *Black: 15 (0.2%) *Latin American: 15 (0.2%) *Filipino: 10 (0.1%) *Other: 30 (0.7%)

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 Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

(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 Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

: 580 (6.3%) *Other religions: 240 (2.6%)

Government

Municipal

Municipal elections were last held on November 20, 2018. At that time, James Baker was elected mayor for a fifth term. Representing the four wards of the municipality are Blair Ireland (Okanagan Centre), Cara Reed (Carr's Landing), Jerremy Kozub (Winfield), and Todd McKenzie (Oyama). The two councillors at large are Bill Scarrow, and Penny Gambell.

Provincial

Provincially, Lake Country is part of the constituency of

Kelowna—Lake Country Kelowna—Lake Country (formerly known as Kelowna) is a federal electoral district in the province of British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1997. History This district was created as "Kel ...

, 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

. 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 6. Lake Country is also home to George Elliot Secondary, which covers Grades 7 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 Route 97, or Highway 97, may refer to: Australia - Olympic Dam Highway, South Australia Canada * British Columbia Highway 97 ** British Columbia Highway 97A ** British Columbia Highway 97B ** British Columbia Highway 97C ** British Columb ...

, 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 A limited-access road, known by various terms worldwide, including limited-access highway, dual-carriageway, expressway, limited access freeway, and partial controlled access highway, is a highway or arterial road for high-speed traffic which ...

, 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 future recreational corridor. A regular public bus service by

Kelowna Regional Transit System Kelowna Regional Transit System is operated by FirstCanada, providing public bus transportation services in part of the central Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada. Funding for the transit system is shared between the City of Kelowna, Re ...

, 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 Vernon Regional Transit System provides bus service to destinations in Vernon, Coldstream and North Okanagan area of British Columbia, using fully accessible low floor transit buses. This transit system is responsible for all local full-service ...

, 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 Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

, 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.

References

External links

* * {{authority control District municipalities in British Columbia Populated places in the Regional District of Central Okanagan Populated places on Okanagan Lake Populated places in the Okanagan Country