Quote:
Originally Posted by csbvan
Kelowna is right wing for BC, but for perspective it isn't THAT right compared to other parts of the West. It's less right than big cities on the prairies, let alone smaller cities east of the rockies. Kelowna's core riding voted Liberal in 2015, both Vernon and the South Okanagan are represented by the NDP provincially. It has a lot of retirees, but with the constant expansion of UBCO and the influx of coastal expats, expect it to continue drifting more centrist. Kind of opposite of Kamloops which was quite split, but is consistently moving more right.
Kelowna seems to be evolving quickly, so as someone who also grew up in the Valley, it never appealed to me to go back. But the dramatic changes happening there every year are impressive. I think it's at a point of rapid maturation, where views of the City from 2000 or even 2010 are somewhat outdated now, and will be very outdated in 5 or 10 years.
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I completely agree. I have seen a massive change in Kelowna over the past 30 years (I’m dating myself). I used to come to Kelowna with friends in the early 90’s and yes, Kelowna was small, right wing, downtown was a strip, and it had not grown up. However, after leaving Nelson (after 17 years) and moving to the area in 2012, this is no longer the case. Downtown and the 4 other core areas are and will continue to undergo a major transformation, which is obviously occurring downtown now.
But the point I want to make is about the overall change in population. This is rapidly changing with influx from larger urban centres, retirement, etc. Everyone on this forum knows this, as Kelowna has been in the top group of fastest growing metro areas in Canada for the last 20 years.
However, the corporate start-up scene is really taking off here, with the addition of talent brought in by UBCO, and the incubator support from UBCO Star-West and Accelerate Okanagan, and a multitude of other supports. These companies are hiring new people and talent and bringing them in from all over Canada.
I co-founded and own an AI software company here in Kelowna, and have a close partnership with UBCO, as we are a research level enterprise (real IT not games). We invent, patent and commercialize new technology. We are well connected in this space, and the tech and IT scene in Kelowna is rapidly maturing. It’s still small with 7,500 to 8,000 people employed, but growing quickly. This is the demographic that is changing in the population of Kelowna (25 - 45yrs). In addition, remote workers are moving here from other jurisdictions employed elsewhere. We’ll probably start to see changing trends in the age group noted, in stats-can data over the next couple of census counts. We are hiring from Toronto (U of T), Vancouver, Calgary, Halifax, etc.
Kelowna has been a great place to recruit people, as we have had no issues attracting them here, however recently, this is becoming an issue with housing costs. All of our senior staff moved here from elsewhere in Canada and are setting roots and buying homes. Providing housing costs don’t get too out-of-hand, I foresee this trend continuing, especially now heading towards an end of pandemic restrictions and a new attitude to remote work and a rapid evolution of what we call “priority office attendance”.
For example: our neighbourhood here in Coldstream has had an influx of families moving here over the last 6 months, mainly from Vancouver and the prairies - all falling within that 25 - 45yr age bracket, working remotely. It will be very interesting to see how things play out in the next 5 - 10 years.
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