B.C. will soon get a new municipality in Okanagan Falls

Akshay Kulkarni · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 23, 2025 4:08 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 minutes ago

The residents of Okanagan Falls, B.C., person narrowly voted successful favour of creating a caller municipality to correspond the assemblage successful the confederate Interior, preliminary referendum results connected Saturday show. 

Okanagan Falls, located astir 60 kilometres southbound of Kelowna and 260 km eastbound of Vancouver, dubs itself the "heart of vino country" and is location to astir 2,700 residents.

Of them, 1,100 voted successful the referendum, with 53 per cent successful favour of incorporation, according to archetypal results.

The country is presently portion of the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS), 1 of 27 determination governments successful B.C. that co-ordinate services similar sewage and determination parks, and wherever elected directors represent sparsely-populated areas.

With a palmy ballot to incorporate, pending authoritative confirmation connected Wednesday, Okanagan Falls volition yet go B.C.'s 162nd municipality, and person an elected politician and assembly to correspond it.

Matt Taylor, the determination territory manager for Area D — which includes Okanagan Falls — was successful favour of incorporation, and said helium was precise pleased for the community.

"It's been a hard decision, but it's made now," helium told CBC News. "I would truly similar to widen my acknowledgment to everyone for participating successful this decision, due to the fact that it's specified an important milestone successful the community's history."

The preliminary referendum results amusement that of the 1,100 radical who voted, 588 were successful favour of incorporation, portion 512 were opposed.

Taylor says that the shot is present successful the tribunal of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, and the state volition supply the assemblage with its adjacent steps by the extremity of adjacent week.

"Those adjacent steps, they are determined successful ample portion by the province," helium said. "We respectfully have to wait, and they've guided america good done the process truthful far."

WATCH | Every B.C. municipality — successful song: 

In a statement, Municipal Affairs Minister Ravi Kahlon said it had been 15 years since B.C.'s astir caller municipality was incorporated, which was Sun Peaks.

"Over the coming months, the state looks guardant to moving with the determination district, the Osoyoos Indian Band and assemblage representatives to proceed to beforehand the modulation of Okanagan Falls to municipal governance," helium said.

"There are galore issues that volition request to beryllium considered arsenic we enactment towards this transition."

Incorporation floated successful 1974

Taylor says the thought of incorporation has been astir successful the assemblage arsenic acold backmost arsenic 1974, and aggregate feasibility studies person been conducted connected the taxable successful the past.

In 1989, 76 per cent of voters rejected the thought of incorporation, with the RDOS saying successful a 2023 document that the cardinal concerns for voters at the clip were astir the costs of incorporation, fixed the caller municipality would beryllium liable for its ain roads and administration.

Taylor says aboriginal leaders successful Okanagan Falls volition person to beryllium mindful of radical who are disquieted astir municipal finances, overspending and ballooning budgets.

"The assembly that comes successful needs to show their fiscal responsibility," helium said. "And I think, arsenic well, there's concerns astir maturation and wanting to support the quality of the community.

"We privation to beryllium cautious and not conscionable prosecute immoderate and each accidental for maturation and development."