Lake Country is a

district municipality A district municipality is a designation for a class of municipalities found in several locations, including Canada, Lithuania, and South Africa. Canada British Columbia Under provincial law, municipalities in British Columbia are to be desi ...

with a population of approximately 15,000 in the

Okanagan Valley The Okanagan ( ), also called the Okanagan Valley and sometimes the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is part of t ...

region of

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, 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, Okanagan Valley in the British Columbia Interior, southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name 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 Okanagan Lake () is a lake in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada. The lake is long, between wide, and has a surface area of 348 km2 (135 sq. mi.). Hydrography Okanagan Lake is called a fjord lake as it has been carved o ...

defines the western boundary of the municipality, while the entirety of Wood Lake 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, 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: File:Overlooking the Lake by Okanagan Centre on a Late Winter Morning.png, Okanagan Centre File:Overlooking Okanagan Lake by Carr's Landing in Late Winter.png, Carr's Landing File:Looking across frozen Kalamalka Lake from Kaloya Regional Park.png, Oyama File:Walking through the winter woods towards Winfield.png, Winfield

Demographics

In the

2021 Canadian census The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canada, 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%, whic ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), 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 culture. It is headquartered in ...

, 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

Religion

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

Irreligion Irreligion is the absence or rejection of religious beliefs or practices. It encompasses a wide range of viewpoints drawn from various philosophical and intellectual perspectives, including atheism, agnosticism, religious skepticism, ...

(9,080 persons or 58.1%) *

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

(6,060 persons or 38.8%) *

Sikhism Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religio ...

(170 persons or 1.1%) *

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

(55 persons or 0.4%) *

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

(35 persons or 0.2%) *

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

(35 persons or 0.2%) *

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

(25 persons or 0.2%) *Other (155 persons or 1.0%) According to the

2001 Canadian census The 2001 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 15, 2001. On that day, Statistics Canada attempted to count every person in Canada. The total population count of Canada was 30,007,094. This w ...

, religious groups in Lake Country included: *No religion: 3,585 (38.7%) *

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

: 3,310 (35.7%) *

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

1535 (16.6%) *Other

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

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

Government

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

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 Tracy Gray is a Canadian politician who served as a Member of Parliament (Canada), member of Parliament (MP) representing the riding of Kelowna—Lake Country (federal electoral district), Kelowna—Lake Country in the House of Commons of Canada ...

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 School District 23 Central Okanagan is a school district in the Okanagan valley of British Columbia. It includes the cities of Kelowna, and West Kelowna, and the District Municipalities of Lake Country, and Peachland, and is the 5th largest dist ...

. 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 University of British Columbia Okanagan (also known as UBC Okanagan or UBCO) is a campus of the University of British Columbia in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. This campus is the research and innovation hub in the province's southern i ...

, the campus which lies in north Kelowna, and Okanagan College, which has campuses in Kelowna and

Coldstream Coldstream () is a town and civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. A former burgh, Coldstream was where the Coldstream Guards, a regiment in the British Army, originated. Description Coldstream li ...

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 A limited-access road, known by various terms worldwide, including limited-access highway, partial controlled-access highway, and expressway, is a highway or arterial road for high-speed traffic which has many or most characteristics of a contro ...

, 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 Kelowna International Airport is a Canadian airport located approximately 10 minutes or northeast of Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan, Okanagan Valley in the British Columbia Interior, southern interior of Bri ...

, which lies only 8 km to the south, and provides regular service to major cities such as

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, Victoria,

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

, and

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

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.

Notes

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