West Kelowna is a young city with a long local history. It was only incorporated in 2007 and only got its current name in 2009, but the communities that make it up, Westbank, Glenrosa, Lakeview Heights, Gellatly and more, go back generations. And the syilx people of Westbank First Nation were here long before any of them.
Knowing this history helps with real estate in a practical way. It explains why some neighbourhoods are on private water systems, why a strip of the city's busiest commercial area is on reserve land with its own laws, and why locals still say "Westbank" and "the Westside" without thinking twice.
Westbank First Nation and syilx territory
Westbank First Nation (WFN) is one of eight Okanagan (syilx) Nation communities. Its people are sqilxʷ/syilx and its language is nsyilxcən. WFN describes its traditional territory as about 69,000 square kilometres, and unceded.
A few dates that shaped today's Westside, all from WFN's own history page:
- Charlie Sookinchute was the first recorded Chief for Westbank. His statue stands outside the Kelowna Tourism Centre.
- October 18, 1963: WFN separated from the Okanagan Indian Band (whose reserve is near Vernon). Its lands became Tsinstikeptum IR 9 and IR 10, plus Mission Creek IR 8. Norman Lindley was the first elected Chief.
- January 14, 1974: members voted to surrender 177.3 acres of IR 10 for a 99-year lease to build the Lakeridge Park residential community. It's a good real-world example of the long-term leaseholds you'll still see listed today; that lease runs to roughly 2073.
- 1982 to 2001: a specific land claim settlement led to two parcels in the Gallagher Canyon area gaining reserve status in 2001 (Medicine Hill IR 11 and Medicine Creek IR 12).
- April 1, 2005: the Westbank First Nation Self-Government Agreement, ratified by members in 2003, came into force. WFN has its own Constitution, Land Code and laws covering land use, building, taxation, tenancy and more.
Today WFN has over 900 Members, about 60% living on reserve, and more than 11,000 non-Member residents across five reserves totalling about 5,340 acres. Since 2009 it has processed over $700 million in business permits, according to WFN Economic Development. Much of the Westside's big-box retail, the Two Eagles golf course and many strata communities are on WFN lands. The Sncewips Heritage Museum, whose name means "a conversation with an ancestor", tells this story first-hand.
This site is an independent real estate guide and is not affiliated with Westbank First Nation. For WFN's own history, laws and services, go to wfn.ca.
Westbank: the name on the post office
A post office opened here in 1902, named Westbank for its spot on the west bank of Okanagan Lake. The name was suggested by John Davidson, who had arrived in 1892 (per Wikipedia, citing Akrigg's British Columbia Place Names). Orchards and irrigation shaped the early community. Glenrosa, Gellatly, Lakeview Heights and Sunnyside grew up as their own settlements. Visit Westside also points to the fur brigade traders who passed along this side of the lake.
Water was the limiting factor from the start. The system that now serves Westbank, Glenrosa, Smith Creek and Gellatly began in the 1920s as the Westbank Irrigation District, moving water through overland flumes. That piecemeal history explains why the Westside still has several separate water systems today, and why some neighbourhoods remain on private ones (City of West Kelowna).
Three referendums and a new municipality
From the 1970s the Westside was a rural area run by the Central Okanagan Regional District. Residents turned down incorporation in 1980 and again in 1994. On June 16, 2007 they finally voted for change, choosing to incorporate as their own municipality rather than amalgamate with Kelowna. It was close: 5,924 to 5,582, on roughly 48% turnout.
The Westside District Municipality was incorporated on December 6, 2007. Its first mayor, Rosalind Neis, had campaigned on reversing the vote to pursue amalgamation, but didn't pursue it once elected. Doug Findlater, elected in 2008, served three terms; Gord Milsom was elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2022.
West Kelowna won the naming vote over Westbank by just 166 ballots, 3,841 to 3,675.
2008 name referendum
The name vote
"Westside" was a placeholder. In 2008 residents chose between Okanagan Hills, Westbank, Westlake and West Kelowna. West Kelowna beat Westbank 3,841 to 3,675. Council confirmed the result on December 9, 2008, and the name became official on January 30, 2009, after the Province amended the Letters Patent. The municipality was reclassified as the City of West Kelowna on June 26, 2015.
That's why you'll hear three names for one place. "West Kelowna" is the city. "Westbank" is both the historic town centre (now Westbank Centre) and, on the WFN side, the name of the First Nation. And "the Westside" is what locals call the whole shore, including WFN lands and Peachland's edges. Postal codes start with V1Z and V4T.
West Kelowna today
| Year | Population | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 27,214 | Statistics Canada census |
| 2011 | 30,892 | Statistics Canada census |
| 2016 | 32,655 | Statistics Canada census |
| 2021 | 36,078 | Statistics Canada census |
| 2024 | 40,093 | BC Stats estimate, via the City |
That 2024 figure is up 9.9% in three years. West Kelowna is now the third most populous municipality in the Okanagan and 25th in BC, covering 123.53 square kilometres. It had 14,746 private dwellings at the 2021 census. The City says its arenas, pool, parks and RCMP detachment serve more than 60,000 people once you include WFN, Peachland and the Central Okanagan West electoral area, together known as the Greater Westside.
Local politics changed hands in 2026. Stephen Johnston was declared mayor by acclamation on September 21, 2026 and takes office at council's inaugural meeting on November 3. Six councillors will be elected on October 17 (City notice).
Interesting facts worth knowing
Mount Boucherie is an old volcano
The rounded hill between Lakeview Heights and the lake is the remnant of a stratovolcano created nearly 60 million years ago. It rises 417 metres above the lake today but may once have stood 2,000 metres or more. The dark east face is columnar dacite. It's named after Isadore Boucherie, who bought the Boucherie Ranch in the late 1880s, and was once called Mount Edgar after Edgar Dewdney. The regional park covers 36.4 hectares and is reached through Eain Lamont Park (Wikipedia).
The winery that put the Okanagan on the map
Mission Hill Family Estate was founded in 1966; Anthony von Mandl bought the then-abandoned estate in 1981. Its 1992 Chardonnay won "Best Chardonnay" at the 1994 International Wine & Spirit Competition in London, the first overseas recognition for an Okanagan winery. The estate was rebuilt by architects Olson Kundig between 1996 and 2002 for about $35 million. Its 12-storey, 85-foot bell tower holds four bells cast by Fonderie Paccard, the French foundry behind the bells of Sacré-Cœur (Wikipedia). More in the wine trail chapter.
A floating bridge
The William R. Bennett Bridge opened on May 25, 2008, replacing the 1958 Okanagan Lake Bridge. It's a 1,060-metre floating bridge on nine concrete pontoons, over water about 60 metres deep at mid-span. It carries three westbound and two eastbound lanes, was designed for 80,000 vehicles a day, and has a 1.3-metre path for walkers and cyclists on the south side. It's named after former premier Bill Bennett, a Kelowna native (Wikipedia).
The Connector brought the Coast closer
The Okanagan Connector (Highway 97C) opened on October 1, 1990 at a cost of $225 million. It starts at the Drought Hill interchange near Peachland and tops out at Pennask Summit, 1,728 metres (Wikipedia). Vancouver is about four and a half hours from West Kelowna City Hall off-peak.
Canada's largest plant of its kind, then the biggest project in city history
The Powers Creek Water Treatment Plant was commissioned in 2007 for $18.8 million and was then the largest of its kind in Canada. The Rose Valley Water Treatment Plant, completed in December 2023, is the single largest construction project in the city's history (City of West Kelowna).
A junior hockey town
The West Kelowna Warriors of the BCHL moved from Langley in 2006 as the Westside Warriors and took their current name in 2012. They play at Royal LePage Place (Wikipedia).
Fire is part of the story
The 2003 Okanagan Mountain Park fire burned on the east side of the lake. Twenty years later, the 2023 McDougall Creek fire started northwest of West Kelowna, jumped the lake and affected 303 structures. In June 2026 a smaller fire burned in Kalamoir Park. Chapter 08 covers what that means for buyers today.